Environmental concerns rise over hotel developments in Bariloche and Nayarit

In Bariloche, Argentina, candidates for the convention are being urged to publicly state their positions regarding the FAENA and CAUMA hotel and gastronomic projects. These large-scale developments are planned near the shores of Lake Moreno within the Lago Morenito-Laguna Ezquerra and Laguna El Trébol Urban Natural Reserves. Critics argue the projects threaten fragile ecosystems, wetlands, and water regulation. Specifically, the FAENA proposal reportedly seeks 33,400 m² of construction in an area where current regulations permit only 500 m².

In San Pancho, Nayarit, Mexico, heavy surf has caused the structural collapse of a controversial hotel built on federal maritime-terrestrial land. The building had been under a judicial demolition order due to its encroachment on the protected coastal strip. Local activists and residents, who have protested the development for seven years, claim the sea is effectively enforcing the legal mandate that administrative and social efforts failed to achieve. The collapse follows years of legal battles regarding the legitimacy of the construction in a protected natural area.