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Corruption at Chichen Itza, special permits for foreigners are granted, locals denounce

- December 18, 2020

This Wednesday, the website reportindigo.com unveiled a corruption network that has existed for almost 10 years around the archaeological site of Chichén Itzá.

According to official figures from the Ministry of Tourism, between January and October of this year, 672 thousand 633 people entered the archaeological zone of Chichén Itzá, located in the state of Yucatán, which makes it the most popular tourist site and crowded in the Republic

However, the figures could be much higher due to the sale of recycled tickets and “special packages” that are acquired outside and illegally through the authorities of the National Institute of Anthropology and History ( INAH ) in charge of the place in collusion with some guides, and which are not officially registered.

According to his report, Andrés Morgan Medina, coordinator of the National Tourist Guides Collective and president of the Union of Accredited Tourism Guides of the Republic, denounces the sale of tickets to enter the archaeological zone, as well as the sale of “Special packages” for five thousand pesos.

“The American says he has already paid. That they charged him 5,000 pesos to enter at 10 at night. That he arranged it with the director and the guide Abel Adonahí Padilla “, explains the employee of the entrance to Chichén Itzá to his manager in an audio that was delivered to Reporte Indigo and that proves the sale of the illegal” special packages “that are made in the zone.

He explained that for that amount, tourists have access to Chichén Itzá at unofficial working hours, as well as allowing them to enter restricted spaces for preservation reasons, such as climbing and even entering the Kukulkan pyramid.

chichen itza corruption

According to Morgan Medina, these practices are done with the knowledge of Antonio Sánchez Ramírez, director of the place.

The report affirms that the “special packages” are acquired illegally through the authorities of the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) in charge of the place in collusion with some guides, which are not officially registered.

“Those who allow this are INAH officials, and this happens in all archaeological sites. They are the custodians, the director of the area, and even the administrative area are involved,” denounced Morgan Medina.

He pointed out that they have already reported such practices to local and federal authorities, but it has been hard to prove it.

An anonymous source told Novedades Yucatán that this activity was carried out before the pandemic and was an open secret” everyone knew”.

Morgan Medina explained that this started because tourists already saw the archaeological zone as a “Disneyland”, full of vendors everywhere, which discouraged them from entering Chichen Itza.

“What they wanted was to enjoy and admire the site without mass tourists and vendors, so the custodians and some tourist guides began to implement this practice, this, also to earn an extra tip.

Source: reporteindigo.com, yucatanalamano.com

The Yucatan Post