Sheinbaum in Quintana Roo: Toured Parque del Jaguar, Sargassum Plan Coming Sunday in Puerto Morelos
The president arrived in Tulum Thursday afternoon, met with tourism business owners, and led Friday's morning briefing from there; this Sunday she will unveil in Puerto Morelos the federal strategy to reduce the sargassum hitting Mexican Caribbean beaches.
President Claudia Sheinbaum has been in Quintana Roo since Thursday afternoon, July 16, on a work tour that wraps up this Sunday, July 19, with the presentation, in Puerto Morelos, of a federal plan to address the sargassum reaching the Mexican Caribbean coast.
According to the official transcript of her morning press briefing, published by Mexico's Presidency, the plan aims to cut the amount of sargassum reaching beaches by collecting it offshore: the federal government reports roughly 90,000 tons of sargassum currently floating off the Quintana Roo coast, with about 9,000 tons washing up on beaches every day. The goal is to intercept between 2,500 and 6,000 tons at sea using Navy Secretariat (Semar) vessels before the seaweed reaches the sand.
Part of the collected sargassum is already processed at a plant in Puerto Morelos run by the company Carbonwave, which turns it into biofertilizer for export to the United States. The federal government is also pushing a Circular Economy Park in that town and an amendment to the National Fishing Charter so sargassum is classified as a usable resource rather than waste. Alongside Semar, the strategy involves the Environment and Natural Resources Secretariat (Semarnat), the National Water Commission (Conagua), and the Quintana Roo state government, led by Governor Mara Lezama Espinosa.
"We're going to look at the problem, see where there's the most sargassum, and provide a comprehensive solution," the president said of the tour's purpose, according to the official Presidency transcript.
The tour began Thursday afternoon, when Sheinbaum landed around 3:00 p.m. at the Felipe Carrillo Puerto international airport in Tulum and then headed to Parque del Jaguar, which she toured on foot and by golf cart. Later she led a private meeting with local tourism business owners, joined by Lezama Espinosa and federal and state officials, to address the sector's concerns about the situation in that area. The president stayed overnight in Tulum and, this Friday, led the morning briefing "La Mañanera del Pueblo" from there.
The tour also includes a review of progress on the Tren Maya cargo line — "the first locomotives have already arrived," Sheinbaum said, per the same transcript — and an event tied to the federal social housing program in Cancun.
What it means for Cancun and the Riviera Maya
Sargassum directly affects tourism employment, the state's main economic driver, so the final scope of the plan — the number of vessels and barriers, budget, and pace of collection — will shape how clear the beaches look for the rest of the summer. Presidential visits also tend to bring security operations and intermittent road closures: anyone driving federal highway 307 between Cancun, Playa del Carmen, and Tulum this weekend, or through Puerto Morelos on Sunday, should leave extra time and check traffic conditions before heading out. Full details of the sargassum plan are expected at Sunday's press conference in Puerto Morelos.
Related
The head of the Chamber of Deputies' Finance Committee says no new levies are planned; the package is formally presented in September.
The parametric policy covers sand and coral restoration after a cyclone; here's how it protects the natural heritage and tourism economy.
The Infonavit agreement fully subsidizes the release of already-paid loans, saving about 16,000 pesos per family in notary fees.
The State Congress launched the process to name the new members of the Citizen Participation Committee of the State Anti-Corruption System. Universities, research centers and civil society can nominate candidates.