Environmental Advocate Battles Hotel Development in Cancun

Despite the approval from the Secretariat of Environment and Natural Resources (Semarnat) and the Federal Attorney for Environmental Protection (Profepa) for the construction of the Grand Hyatt hotel in Puerto Cancún, a former federal judiciary official turned construction businessman has sought legal protection to halt the project. Citing potential environmental impacts, he aims to pause a development that represents an investment of around 100 million dollars for the southeastern state.

Identifying as an environmentalist, Pablo Zamudio Díaz has often criticized real estate developers for contributing to environmental degradation. Interestingly, since 2021, he has been a shareholder in at least 10 companies dedicated to the real estate and construction industries in the same area.

Zamudio Díaz himself owns an apartment in the well-known Torre Blume development in Puerto Cancún, which is situated on the same land as the project he is legally challenging. Notably, his legal action was initiated four years after the development began, coinciding with the construction obstructing the view from his residence.

This is not the first time Zamudio Díaz has been involved in a conflict with a hotel development. Over the past decade, he represented various parties in protracted litigation involving criminal complaints and international courts over the control of the Secrets Silversands hotel in Puerto Morelos, also located in Quintana Roo.

Before his transition to the private sector, Pablo Zamudio had a career in the Federal Judiciary from 2009 to 2016. His wife, Miriam Suárez Padilla, has been working there since 2004, holding numerous positions, including a substitute magistrate in a Cancún court where, curiously, her husband's matters have been resolved.