Coyoacán Neighbors Block Calzada de Tlalpan Over Skyline Towers
About 70 Coyoacán residents blocked Calzada de Tlalpan for two hours and filed a collective amparo against the Skyline project of 430 apartments.
About 70 residents of Coyoacán protested against a planned residential development called Skyline and kept traffic closed on Calzada de Tlalpan for two hours, according to a report by grupoanimal. They gathered near the Las Torres station of the Tren Ligero (Mexico City’s light rail line). On Wednesday, Nov. 11, they planned to file a collective legal challenge against the project.
The project would put four towers of 15 floors each on a lot in the Ciudad Jardín neighborhood, with 430 apartments and 588 parking spaces. Neighbors say it would strain the local water supply.
What the residents are asking for
Israel Ballesteros, a resident of the Multifamiliar de Tlalpan, the housing complex directly across from the planned site, said the group would file an amparo indirecto colectivo. An amparo is a legal remedy in Mexico that asks a federal judge to protect people from an act of authority that they say violates their rights. The residents say Skyline harms their human and environmental rights. They want the judiciary to admit the case and suspend the project immediately.
Ballesteros also said that other affected neighborhoods plan to take the same legal route in the coming days. He named Ciudad Jardín, Atlántida, La Educación, El Centinela, Campestre Churubusco, Espartaco and Parque San Andrés.
Water, luxury housing and the dispute over what counts as housing
In a statement read outside the lot, the protesters drew a line between housing meant to be lived in and buildings they describe as vehicles for real estate speculation. They said Mexico City’s residents have a human right to housing that is constantly violated, and that Skyline does not help meet it.
They described the apartments as luxury units that most neighbors cannot afford and that tend to end up in a few hands, belonging to owners who will never live in them. They also said the project has the approval of every level of government.
On water, the residents said the 430 apartments would raise daily consumption in the area by at least 450 mil liters. In their view, that would limit the supply available to the rest of Coyoacán’s residents. The figure comes from the protesters, and the report does not include a response from the developer or from the authorities.
Why it matters
The protest ties together two issues that regularly come up in Mexico City: how new large residential buildings affect water service in established neighborhoods, and who benefits from high-end apartment construction. For people who live in or near Coyoacán, the immediate consequences are traffic closures on Calzada de Tlalpan, a major avenue, and a court process that could affect whether the project advances.
The group also set conditions on political support. The neighbors asked politicians of all parties to stay out of the movement and not use it for electoral purposes. They criticized officials and legislators who have posted messages of solidarity, saying the parties of those same officials have promoted similar projects across the city. They asked those officials to use their positions to stop Skyline and other large developments.
What to watch next
The first step is the filing of the amparo on Nov. 11 and whether a judge admits it and grants the suspension the residents requested. Ballesteros said other neighborhoods would follow with their own filings in the following days. The group also called on residents from across Mexico City to join its campaign.
Source: grupoanimal
