Dzilam de Bravo, Yucatán — The mayor has ordered a census to detect who’s a local and who’s not.
The data collection effort comes amid tensions between fishermen who are local and those who are “foreign” — that is, from other states.
A wave of fear and aggression has hit as between 80 to 100 interlopers have moved in from elsewhere. In at least one case, an outsider’s fishing boat was found burning on the beach.
Last month, residents of the town protested in the streets, accusing them of criminal acts and demanding their ouster.
The unusual data collection project asks residents to identify themselves and to point out strangers.
But José Enrique Goff Ailloud, the president of the Human Rights Commission of the State of Yucatan (Codhey), said that the project is discriminatory if meant to privilege one group over another.
“When an authority engages in such activities, it may be failing to respect its constitutional obligations to respect, protect, promote and guarantee human rights,” Goff said.
Dzilam de Bravo, which sits 90 minutes east of Progreso, has about 3,500 inhabitants, according to the mayor.
Source: Sipse
