The cultural sector achieved an important victory in Nayarit. A state judge ordered this Monday the definitive suspension of the construction of a soccer stadium promoted by Governor Miguel Ángel Navarro, of Morena, following the destruction of the City of the Arts cultural complex, on whose land the governor intended to build the new infrastructure. The court ruling, issued by Judge Gabriela Hernández Anaya of the Third District Court of Nayarit, mandates authorities to “refrain from executing or carrying out any type of construction” on that site, as well as to avoid demolishing what remains standing: the State School of Music and Dance.
“This is further proof that when citizens organize, demand respect and the non-violation of their rights, and go to the appropriate place, such as the Judiciary, the Judiciary will have no other response than to rule in their favor,” says José Hermosillo, a lawyer at the law firm Artículo 27 S.C., which led the legal strategy following the complex’s demolition. “It’s a definitive suspension that says the City of the Arts cannot be touched, no more demolitions can be carried out, and much less can anything be built there,” he asserts.
The ruling determines that the state government cannot build in the area without the proper permits, licenses, environmental impact assessments, and feasibility studies submitted by the relevant authorities. This is one of the arguments leveled by those opposing the stadium, who claim the project has been handled with great opacity. Governor Navarro and his team have not submitted either the permits or the studies necessary to demonstrate the viability of the project. Representative Beatriz Navarro, from her own party, has demanded a halt to the construction and warned that “one of the most worrying aspects” of the project “is the lack of clear, public, and verifiable information about its planning, financing, operation, and administration.”
The governor has said that the stadium, which would be named after Nicolás Álvarez Ortega, a local athlete, is “part of his administration’s commitment to strengthening sports infrastructure” and officially initiated the demolition of the center. His project would cost 300 million pesos and have a capacity for 12,500 spectators. Local authorities have not responded to repeated requests for information. “What is very clear is that they don’t have the permits, and that is very sensitive. We have a final ruling that prohibits any touching of the City of the Arts at all costs, that mandates its preservation, and that prohibits any construction on it,” adds the Despacho 27 lawyer.
Right to culture
That firm, which has worked on other cases such as the Maya Train or the construction of an elevated viaduct in Zacatecas (a 3.6 billion peso project that judicial authorities also halted), used technical and constitutional arguments to stop the demolition. “This ruling will set a precedent for the State. We are asserting a right that is still a step above the rest, which is the intergenerational right to culture, which requires the conservation and protection of all heritage assets. The Tepic building is a cultural heritage site that creates conditions for the development of the cultural sector, and that makes it relevant,” explains Hermosillo.
Judge Hernández Anaya’s ruling comes a week after a Nayarit court ordered the provisional suspension of the stadium’s construction. Monday’s ruling has generated jubilation among the group of artists, environmentalists, and activists who stood up to the governor and have formed a collective called “Ciudad de las Artes Resiste.” Mario Ortiz, an environmentalist, considers this a significant defeat for the governor. “The state government acted in an authoritarian manner by ignoring the citizens. This is an example of what a resistance movement can do against the demolition of its own land,” he says. “The governor will have to obey, unless he wants to become a criminal. We demand that what was destroyed be rebuilt and that accountability be established,” he demands.
Among the damages these activists include is the devastation of 195 trees that were part of the complex. “We want those trees to be recovered and more planted. The next step is to demand a comprehensive cultural and environmental project in that space, because this is also a wake-up call for the protection of resources,” says activist Isaac Cárdenas. “It’s a clear example that organized citizens can achieve a lot,” he says.
Source: elpais
