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Travel to the hotel zone in Cancun has been a challenge recently for tourists as a blockade of the main access road, Kukulcán Boulevard, was in effect by the activist group Madres Buscadoras de Quintana Roo.
The protest started on Tuesday, May 28 and after 18 hours, they finally released one of the blocked lanes on the main access road to tourist hotels and Cancun International Airport.
Despite the opening of one travel lane, traffic remains snarled in the area and tourists are unhappy with the significant delays in transportation around town.
What the Protest is About
The protestors are sounding off against the lack of results from the State of Quintana Roo’s Attorney General’s Office about a case of a minor who was allegedly a victim of abuse.
Strangely enough, it has nothing to do with tourism. However, travelers to Cancun are the ones truly feeling the impact of the protest.
Hotel workers, fed up with the impact to tourists in the Mexican Caribbean, have threatened to take action to remove the blockade to limit the impact to visitors.
Where is the Blockade?
Cancun Municipal Police are policing the blocked road from Kilometer 0.5 of the hotel zone to the tip of Puerto Cancun to keep the peace between the protestors and the hotel workers.
According to City Council Secretary Antonio Riveroll Ribbon, the blockade ends just a couple of meters after the entrance to the hotel zone meets with Puerto Cancun. After this point, the two lanes are accessible again.
As of the writing of this article, the blockade remains, although one access lane has now been opened to provide some access for travelers and hotel workers.
What’s Being Done?
According to reports about the protest, the State of Quintana Roo’s Attorney General’s Office has agreed to take a second look at the investigative cases of the two individuals that the protest is based on, along with one other case.
However, the protestors claim they will continue the protest, along with one in front of the courts on Nichupté Avenue, until the lead sexual crimes prosecutor on the cases is dismissed because of the alleged omissions in the cases.
This is Not the First Time
The activist group Madres Buscadoras de Quintana Roo did a similar blockade of the hotel zone in Cancun back in late April of last year.
They not only blocked access to the hotel zone in that protest, but also the nearby popular tourist beaches.
They eventually freed one lane of the boulevard to provide access before angering hotel workers and tourists enjoying a vacation getaway to the sun, sand and surf of Cancun.
They used the same freedom of access principle which led to tourists enjoying access to the hotel zone during this protest.
Tips for Travelers
Unfortunately, the protests have caused traffic jams and access delays for tourists enjoying a vacation in the hotel zone of Cancun.
It has also resulted in some tourists having issues getting to Cancun International Airport to catch their flights back home.
Because of this, patience is asked for the delays and travelers are highly urged to leave earlier for their flight in order to arrive at time.
Tourists should also avoid engaging the protestors and immediately report any issues or concerns about treatment from the protestors to their hotel front desk, on-site security and municipal police for investigation.
So far, the protest has been peaceful, and no negative incidents involving tourists have been reported to local authorities.
It is anticipated that the protest should be cleared by the start of, or during, the first weekend of June before a large influx of summer travelers.
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