Who We Are

The Collective intends to request the administration of these public properties in order to promote the responsible public use and enjoyment of this public beach and the adjacent federal reclaimed lands. If successful, the Collective hopes these efforts will serve as a model for protecting other public resources and promoting their responsible use and enjoyment by the community in the future.

Playa Agua Caliente deserves your support. Playa Agua Caliente, its historic public access road (the Historic Roadway), and the adjacent federal waterways (Arroyo Sotól and Arroyo Las Minitas) have been used as public resources by local residents for many decades. According to Mexico’s National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI) in La Paz, the Agua Caliente Historic Roadway is currently registered as a public road in the National Road Network, and the Municipality of La Paz has recently reaffirmed this designation as a protected public access route.

Generations of residents of La Ventana and La Paz have enjoyed its white-sand beaches and iconic hot spring pools, especially during Easter Week and other holiday celebrations. It is a major attraction for tourists and a driver of the growing tourism economy in La Ventana Bay. It has long been regarded as a public park—accessible to all and supported by the local community. It has also hosted public events such as El Clásico de La Ventana, which benefited children from local schools. It is the last beach in La Ventana with adequate vehicle parking and direct access adjacent to, but outside of, the federal maritime zone.

In 2021, a private developer called Devangari purchased large tracts of land that included preexisting public assets such as the Historic Roadway, as well as areas under exclusive federal jurisdiction, including the Federal Maritime Zone (ZFMT), reclaimed federal lands (TGM), and the Sotól and Las Minitas arroyos. Their published plans include the development of hotels, commercial areas, residential lots, and other similar structures.

Shortly after purchasing the land, Devangari began taking repeated, illegal, and ongoing actions to block public access to Playa Agua Caliente via the Historic Roadway. They destroyed community-built palapas located on the adjacent ZFMT, illegally occupied and excluded the public from the TGM, placed shipping containers on the public roadway, erected stone and wooden barriers to block access, spread false claims that the Historic Roadway was a turtle habitat — which it is not — and began unpermitted construction of buildings (fortunately halted by the Municipality).

When these actions forced the community to use the ZFMT to access the beach as they traditionally had, the developer dug trenches, dumped rubble, and attempted to prevent historical public use of these resources.

These actions represent a clear attempt to privatize this public beach for the developer’s own plans. Unfortunately, such anti-public actions are becoming increasingly common in various communities across Baja California Sur. Citizen participation and action are essential to defend and protect the public’s rights.