Friday, December 1, 2023

Sayulita, Nayarit, shuts the door on vacationers

Residents in Bahías de Banderas, Nayarit, the municipal home of the popular beach destination Sayulita, blocked access to the town over the weekend in order to prevent out-of-state tourists from visiting during the emergency period called in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The residents criticized the out-of-towners for ignoring the government’s recommendations to help mitigate the spread of Covid-19. Deputy Health Minister Hugo López-Gatell reminded the public on Friday that they should not be making plans to hit the road for the Easter vacation period.

Local media reports said that around 20 residents set up checkpoints at the entrances to the town. In a video shared on social media one can be heard telling the tourists attempting to enter that if they want to go on vacation they should pick somewhere else.

Later in the video an argument can be heard between residents and tourists, the latter complaining that there were no hotels in which to stay and the former reminding them that the announcement of the beach closures came many days prior to their arrival.

Nayarit Governor Antonio Echevarría posted a video to social media in which he expressed his anger over citizens traveling from Jalisco for vacation and urged Nayarit citizens not to provide services to them.

“We have made the decision to close all the [beach clubs], all the public pools. And I’m asking the people of Bahía de Banderas not to provide services to these people in your homes,” he said.

Echevarría said that an official in Jalisco had been in communication with him to let him know that many Jalisco residents were going to Nayarit for vacation.

“We are not going to allow them to come and infect our people,” he said. “Please stay in your homes in Guadalajara.”

The weekend’s events were not the only examples of communities closing themselves off to outsiders. Indigenous residents in Baja California Sur, Oaxaca, Chiapas and Chihuahua closed off access to their towns in response to the virus.

Source: Eje Central (sp)

Have something to say? Paid Subscribers get all access to make & read comments.

Tulum international airpot

New Tulum airport opens with 5 daily domestic flights

0
President López Obrador flew in to inaugurate the highly-anticipated new airport on Friday, which is expecting 700,000 passengers in its first month.

Mexican hostage Ilana Gritzewsky released from Gaza

0
One of two Mexican citizens abducted from Israel by Hamas militants on Oct. 7 has been released from Gaza.

2 Mexican cities move up the most in global cost of living ranking

0
The Economist Intelligence Unit survey of 173 world cities cited the strengthening peso as one reason for the dramatic upward move for the two cities.