BajaNomad

Over-development of La Paz - message from citizen

wilderone - 7-20-2004 at 02:26 PM

Copied - Poster "Interactivista"

"Paradise of the sea, or the selling out of paradise?
La Paz has recently received a lot of notoriety as one of the top 10 retirement communities on earth (Money Magazine) and as the most desirable place by television network CNN.

?Why do we have such an incredible amount of respect and desirability?

For centuries our fair city has evolved and developed it?s unique culture, center upon respect for one to another and our beloved place. We are a city with the highest standards of living in M?xico and our peaceful and mutually supportive culture has made our place among the most desirable on earth.

This has all be done by our citizens who?s families all helped create what La Paz is today. It has been done without such developments as Cabo San Lucas, Cancun and other such types of foreign designed and usually owned tourist developments. It has also been done largely with a deep love and respect for the natural beauty and the abundance of our environment. The obvious result is that we have created something that the world now sees as one of the true paradises on earth. But even more it is our home and the patrimony we have to pass on to our children?s and theirs. And to contribute to the cultural wealth of our nation.

Today we see our culture and quality of life deeply threatened by tourist trap mentality type developments which apparently have no respect for our culture, people and natural environment.
The most blatant of these is the proposed development of El Mogote. The proposed site for this project has been part of the patrimony of the citizens of La Paz since it?s inception. In all those years only one project was developed on El Mogote, wich was first designed for gambling and when that stopped it became a house of ill aipote, which also eventually failed. Oddly enough that development was also called ?PARADISE?.

El Mogote has always been a place of myth, fabule and folklore for pace?os. It`s said that if a visitor eats the ciruelas of El Mogote they will never be able to leave la Paz and if they do they will return. It has been a place of refuge for Pace?os and Mexicans where they could take their families and camp in nature and natural beauty. Generations have done this for centuries now.

El Mogote is also an integral part of the bay of la Paz ecological balance and its mangrove forest protected under law (Norma 022-03) which strictly prohibits any development within 100 meters of the mangrove. El mogote is also the home of a number of endemic species found only in the californias of which our state is the most southern.

The currant planned development of el mogote most certainly would not withstand the legal santiny imposed by the norma 022-03. In fact today with only the development of a palapa and temporary structures for potential foreign investors the law is in extreme violation.

To add insult to injury and violations of the law there also exist photographic and film evidence of the brave death of one endemic species: Phrynosoma dorsalus which in her effort to protect her home tried to hold back a bulldozer in order to stop he blatant destructure of her natural environment and family. She died as a result.

The proposed project, paradise of the sea, proclaims that it is an ecologically sound and conscious development, yet the lie is blatantly reveled via the destruction of the very environment that it falsy claims it will protected. And that is bu a brief prelude of what is to come when if this project gets past the simple building of palapas which has already recked ecological haak. The entire section that has been clemred is now devoid of life and shows the classic symptoms of desertification, no living flora or fauna left.

It most also be mentioned that independent surveys have been conducted with the residents of la Paz and according to tose surveys not one local (Pace?o), Mexican or foreign, immigrant could be found in favor of the destruction of El Mogote, other than there local front men and corrupt politicians involved in the project itself who are selling out the patrimony of the people who treasure El Mogote and wish to truly preserve it for future generations, in it`s natural and truly ecological state.

The fact that El Mogote has remained preserved for hundreds of years is also what gives pace?os and visitors what is often referred to in the real estate business as ?A million dollar view?. This view has been a very integral of the attraction for La Paz. The hotels, restaurants, businesses and residences along the Malecon have benefited greatly from the open vistas of the Bahia de La Paz, it?s spectacular mountains, it?s renowned sunsets and spectacular open and expansive views.

The Paradise of the sea project plans hotels, condominiums and apartment blocks, along with other commercial structures. In turn these will obstruct and destroy the vistas that pace?os have taken for granted over the centuries. If this project proceeds (and as we learned from the cabo corridor) there will be no spectacular views, other than for reach foreigners who?s development obstructs the horizon and will deny locals of what is far more rightfully theirs. All well sea s the reach backsides of foreigners who obviously have not concern for pace?os, nor respect for there rights, or wishes.

The cuality of life as we know it will be destroyed. No local tat knows Cabo San Lucas, Cancun, Acapulco etc.. wants that happen to La Paz. The decadente, drugs, disrepectful foreigners corrupting our youth, prostitution and abuse of mexican labore )who could never afford such extreme prices) who are treated as low cost labor (Pions), the inck of respect for our culture, abuse of our women, and all to often our children is unthinkable for any self respecting Pace?o/Mexican. What decent person want their children or themselves subjected to being treated as second-third class citizens and having their culture destroyed? And all to make rich foreign developers and corrupt locals richer at the expense of the people.

Today we have what is now world renown as one of the (if not the) nicest places in the world to live. If we allow the raping of El Mogote, and surely a mykind of like projects to follow, we?ll only have another tourist trap and we should note that there isn?t one such place bisted anywhere as having the quality of life we already have here in La Paz (that is presently targeted for destruction).

If we Pace?os allow the degradation of the precious qualiy of life our families have crated for us we have only ourselves to blame. La Paz, B.C.S., mexico and the world will lose what they now credits us with having. And for what? Low paid and for the most par very temporary jobs? To be servants for rich foreigners who has no respect for or people, culture or natural environment? To work for wages that in no way would afford us the money to live in the development they are expected to create and that in turn will destroy the quality of life we already have.

The el Mogote proyct, in it+s very first (and relatively minor) development, is already in violation of the lawby building structures in illegal areas, nnow encroaching on other existing mangroves in violation of the Norma Oficial Mexicana 022-03 that prohibits such development. It`s already guilty of killing endemic species. It totally disregards the wishes o locals who wish to protect the public lands of el Mogote which are the patrimony of the people and future generations, but which has been sold out by corrupt politicians who are in the developers pockets.

We Mexicans should be right fully proud of the broad expanse of democracy and freedoms we have acheived in recent years, which indeed now far exceeds that of our northern neighbor which has taken the reverse path. Are we now willing to sell out our land, people and culture for, at best, short term dollar profits at the expense of our future generations. And what will we have when those dollars are gone, alon with quality of life, not to mention te morality of our children."

See, I told you.

jrbaja - 7-20-2004 at 02:45 PM

And for those of you thinking of moving into one of these P-nche enclaves, plan on getting your things stolen on a regular basis.
And under these kind of circumstances, I wonder who's side a human police dept. would be on.:lol::lol::lol:
Raping the planet, you get what you deserve. And then you can join the gringo crowd in los barriles internet cages whining about how you have been mistreated. :lol::lol::lol:

one million years ago B.C. - ..........

capt. mike - 7-20-2004 at 04:56 PM

ZOG says to his buddy ZOR, "Sheeeet man, all this bizness with coming out of the trees and living on the flats is gonna ruin the place!"

ZOR retorts, "You know it, dude! I heard a few are taking up with sleeping in the caves. What's next? this place is going to hell!"

Ha Ha Ha!!!!!!

bajaloco - 7-20-2004 at 06:21 PM

We were on the east cape a few weeks ago having desayuno, and spoke to a woman from Texas who was building their dream home. We asked her what see thought about other parts of baja. She said that she had never even seen anything besides what she sees between the airport and her new home. We tried to tell her that there was a great deal more to baja than just her little spot, but she just looked back at us with a question marked face...I just say, go out and see as much of baja, while you still can and it's still there......Gary

Dave - 7-20-2004 at 09:05 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by jrbaja
Raping the planet, you get what you deserve.


I believe this all started because a MEXICAN sold some property. It continues because a corrupt MEXICAN legal system allows it. It will end when MEXICANS start respecting the rule of law.

Perhaps

jrbaja - 7-20-2004 at 10:35 PM

I may just look into it. Is it a Mexican development happening there or some P-nche over dollared ferin developer making offers that can't be refused to people that are used to being able to "just feed their families.:light:
I would bet it's the latter. Combined with the Mexican ruling parties intentions of developing Baja.

Loco!

Skeet/Loreto - 7-21-2004 at 05:44 AM

You "Hit the Nail on the Head"!

Many people, Baby Boomers, Girle Men, have reached the place where they have Time and Money. Now they are taking there Eyes off the latest 'Game Boy" looking up and looking for another "Game Boy', never to know about anything outside their Vision or what CNN has told them is proper[and PNR}.
Skeet/Loreto

"In God I trust"

Overdevelopment-Magote-La Paz

Jack Swords - 7-21-2004 at 07:07 AM

It is great sadness that I become aware of this development. During our six months each year in La Paz I run 10 miles twice a week on the Magote with my dog. The diversity of animals and plants in an isolated "peninsula" so close to the city is a real treasure. The mangroves are a major part of the ecosystem. The shell collecting is great. Families take a boats out to picnic, fishermen beach pangas to clean their catch, locals clamming at low tide. It is a fabric of the Pace?os life. La Paz is changing due to development. It's charm has been that those who want that lifestyle have always gone to Cabo (San Lucas). That too is changing. "Call a place paradise, and turn it into a parking lot" seems to be in place here. Can anything be done? Hurricanes, lack of water, failed economies, legal enforcement? Seems that these things still march on immune to anything but the big bucks.

See http://www.elmogoteproperties.com/

Doesn't work completely, but interesting.

Dave - 7-21-2004 at 09:22 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by jrbaja
I may just look into it.


Go right ahead but if laws are being openly ignored/broken you can bet the farm some Mexican is benefiting at the expense of his own people. Your suggestion that this may be the result of offers made that "can't be refused" doesn't excuse the situation.

There, we agree!

jrbaja - 7-21-2004 at 10:12 AM

A greed! hmmmm...! Yep, whoever is involved shouldn't be doing things like this.
I don't really blame the Mexicans selling the properties as they are just trying to better their childrens lives.
There is a good probability that they are unaware of what certain parties (rich buyers) have planned for the coastline of Baja.
I do blame the people making the offers and paying the bribes and the corrupt officials who make these things possible.
Ruin an entire coastline and habitat to make more money for someone who doesn't need it?
WTF????

JESSE - 7-21-2004 at 08:52 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Dave
Quote:
Originally posted by jrbaja
Raping the planet, you get what you deserve.


I believe this all started because a MEXICAN sold some property. It continues because a corrupt MEXICAN legal system allows it. It will end when MEXICANS start respecting the rule of law.


LOL!!!! that was funny.