BY DAVID FLORES
Two Fridays ago, the Mexican Navy took over the docks leased by IGY Marinas and shut them down. They reopened them again late the same day, and the entire marina is open and operational. The new administration, called ASIPONA for its looong name in Spanish, is looking into individual dock leases, which ones have expired and which ones owe past due fees. For any information, go to the API building, located between the dolphin center and the main dock. And relax, it's business as usual in our gorgeous marina.
The Mexican authorities unexpectedly seized assets from Cabo Marina, a subsidiary of IGY Marinas under MarineMax, Inc., and halted its operations at the Port of Cabo San Lucas, rejecting its application for a new lease. Despite over 20 years of managing the marina and pursuing a new agreement in good faith, Cabo Marina has been accused of violations it deems illegitimate. The company is now engaging with government officials and considering legal action to defend its interests. This seizure affects a minor portion of MarineMax’s overall assets and revenues.
When the Navy bosses learned of the violent seizing of the docks, they ordered the immediate firing of Ana Lopez and Marisa Abarca, heads of the federal ports agency.
The Cabo marina is now in the hands of ASIPONA but business is running as usual. Why did ASIPONA take over? President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (AMLO) has been taking over operations of Mexican ports and airports little by little, in what is considered a move to nationalize and control all entries to Mexico.
Political analysts see this as a move to control the country in case that his chosen successor in the upcoming presidential elections on June 2 loses and he can claim electoral fraud. AMLO has spent his 5 years in office fighting the Supreme Court and the Judicial System, who have constantly rejected his attempts to socialize the country. Stay tuned.
