Baja California Sur Governor Víctor Manuel Castro Cosío has sent a formal letter to President Claudia Sheinbaum requesting the immediate review and revocation of a federal decree that reclassifies the port of Loreto as a deep-water and cabotage port. The governor joined Loreto Mayor Paz del Alma Ochoa Amador in demanding the decree be scrapped to protect Bahía de Loreto National Park.
The decree, published on April 10, 2026, in the Diario Oficial de la Federación (the federal register), modified the port classification for several locations across Mexico. In Loreto’s case, the change would allow international vessels, including megacruise ships, to dock and expand commercial shipping, fuel transport, and passenger operations.
Federal Judge Already Suspended the Decree
The governor’s letter follows weeks of escalating opposition. On May 7, the Advisory Council of Bahía de Loreto National Park voted unanimously to reject the decree. More than 40 organizations grouped under the coalition “¿Ballenas o Gas?” (Whales or Gas?) have called for its revocation, warning that large-scale maritime traffic threatens blue whale habitat and the region’s marine ecosystem.
On May 15, a federal judge at the Second District Court granted a legal suspension of the decree. The ruling halted its legal effects while an amparo (constitutional challenge) filed by environmental organizations moves through the courts. Organizers of the amparo said Loreto’s municipal authorities had initially been slow to formally back citizen demands at the federal level.
Community Opposition Grows
Residents, civil organizations, and tourism operators in Loreto have staged protests since the decree’s publication. Critics say the reclassification was buried inside the 2023 to 2028 Master Port Development Program of the Administración Portuaria Integral (API) of BCS without public consultation or environmental impact studies. The Mexican Center for Environmental Law (CEMDA) has argued that Loreto’s ecosystem is not equipped for international maritime traffic.
On May 18, citizen collectives and local tourism providers directed a separate petition to the Mexican Senate, urging legislators to permanently block the decree. Activists warn that allowing mass cruise tourism could destroy Loreto’s sustainable tourism model, which depends on whale watching (the blue whale season runs January through March), sport fishing, and small-scale ecotourism.
Castro Cosío said his administration remains committed to defending Loreto’s natural resources. The governor’s letter and the court suspension add political and legal pressure on the Sheinbaum administration, though the federal government has maintained the decree was intended to formalize existing tourism operations.
The BCS state government published details of the governor’s position on its official website, bcs.gob.mx.