Litibu (or the new, new Cancun)

I continue my trip by the Mexican Pacific coasts and I don’t know what is that which I miss the most, if the fish tacos of the Sea of Cortez or Kathy. I stopped in a place where I couldn’t stay for a long time because, literally, it is impossible to do so. Litibu, named after a bird in Huichol language, is not a city, but a “Comprehensive Planned Center”. It is something like the dream of any futurist guy, but with beach.

Supposedly, in the policies of development for this “Center” is stated that any businessman who purchases a property here to build a hotel, restaurant or any other kind of tourist industry, shall contribute to the sustainability of the place. And, I imagine that this policy is something like this: if you destroy part of the jungle, then you have to plant a new one. As simple as it sounds.

For the businessmen, this situation does not pose any problem at all: they save a few pesos in the purchase of the properties (thanks to FONATUR, who sold the properties off cheap, around 35 million pesos less than what they really cost). With the money they save, I feel that there will be no problem to replace the mangroves, even if they are in flowerpots. I think that they would like to pretend to be philanthropist and environmentalists. Even worse: there might be someone who believes it.

Here, almost 100 percent of the investments come from foreigners. Apparently, they are aiming to have in Litibu not a spring break spot, but a paradisiacal retirement place… for those who can afford it.  

Litibu had been called “The new Cancun”. Every new tourist resort is called like that. It happened in Loreto and in Peñasco. It seems that, in a really short time, the country will be full of a lot of new “Cancuns”, or is it that this new Cancun is already here?