Carlos Pérez, a Maya-speaking indigenous person, filed a lawsuit before a federal judge in Mérida against the Poseidon statue in Progresso.
A lawsuit was filed against a federal judge in Mérida, Yucatán, regarding the installation of the Poseidon statue in Puerto Progreso.
The lawsuit, filed by Carlos Orlando Pérez Zaldívar, a Maya-speaking indigenous person, and advised by Litigio Estratégico Indígena, claims that the placement of the Poseidon statue diminishes his right to preserve his Maya culture.
According to the press release, Poseidon is a Greek deity and has no connection to the Maya culture. Chaac, the god of rain and water, is the corresponding deity in the local culture. The installation of the Poseidon statue affects Pérez’s human right to preserve his indigenous culture, as stated in Article 2, Section IV, of the Federal Constitution: “authorities have a constitutional duty to preserve Maya culture over foreign cultures”.
“I have the human right to preserve my Maya culture,” Pérez said. “If there was interest in honoring the god of water, rain, and seas, our Maya culture has its own deities.”
The plaintiff also mentions that the installation of the Poseidon statue affects his environmental rights, as it harms at least one of the environmental services, such as the landscape.
For his part, Carlos Morales, a lawyer from Litiguo Estratégico Indígena, based in Oaxaca, stated that the Poseidon statue is not original, but rather an imitation of the one located on Melenara Beach in Gran
Canaria, Spain.
It will be up to a federal judge to determine whether the Poseidon statue in Progresso should be removed according to the law.
