On Thursday morning, a backhoe from the National Fund for Tourism Development (Fonatur) began work on Revolcadero Beach, fulfilling one of seven commitments made by authorities to local service providers. The beach has suffered visible and ongoing damage since Hurricane John struck Acapulco in September 2014.
Merchants and restaurant owners threatened to block the streets during the Mexican Open tennis tournament, held from February 21 to 28, but authorities promised to address their demands for support and the beach’s restoration.
However, locals stated that these promises have not been kept and remain skeptical that a single machine can be used to improve Revolcadero, considered the only public beach in the Diamante area, where free access to the sand has been reduced over the years.
“One machine won’t be enough for what’s needed, nor does it mean it’s a comprehensive project, which is what we’ve been proposing in the working groups,” said a restaurant owner, who insisted that “they supposedly come to work, but what they’re doing is a superficial clearing; nobody’s talking about a renovation because nobody wants to take responsibility.”
Víctor Manuel Díaz Santos, known as Chencho, a concessionaire at Revolcadero Beach, pointed out that “there’s no plan in sight. They say they’re tearing things up to build, but one machine isn’t enough to start a big project.”
He warned that the tide had risen in recent hours due to the swell, a situation that caught them by surprise since it’s not storm season.
He emphasized that “the swell has become a daily occurrence.”
Díaz Santros warned that “the situation is a bit difficult now, because the waves have washed away the strip of sand where the palapas were. People are nervous and fearful because of the hurricanes that have passed through. There’s no other option but to look for any scraps of land to put up the palapas.”
He noted that in recent days the sea has destroyed about twenty palapas, whose price has increased from three to ten pesos per palapa.
Source: jornada
