Uncontrolled urges could mean a hefty fine, arrest and community service
Zipolite, Oaxaca’s beach allows nudity, but not sex, according to a newly passed law that comes with fines and required community service for violators.
Visitors to a nudist beach in Oaxaca will be forced to exercise self-restraint after local authorities introduced punishments for people caught having sex on the beach.
Playa del Amor (Love Beach) in Zipolite, 250 kilometers south of Oaxaca city, is known as a vacation spot for hippies, surfers and nudists.
However, for local citizens on the community assembly, the free-loving culture that makes the town famous has surpassed their limits. The assembly agreed on March 20 that sexual activities on the beach and nudism anywhere off the beach should be banned.
People who are caught having sex on the beach could be reported to police, arrested, fined 5,000 pesos (US $244) and forced to do community work.
The decision came after a series of complaints from tourists and citizens that the beach was being used at night for intimate purposes by enthusiastic couples, according to the minutes from an assembly meeting.
“Some people come to have sex and on the public beach, which is a bad image for local, national and international visitors who come as families. Our town Zipolite [has]a nonexhibitionist nudist beach, where nudism is practiced without judgment. But others turn nudism into sexual practices,” the minutes read.
The assembly also agreed to limit the beach’s opening times from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m., to install a lifeguard tower and to introduce frequent tourist police patrols. Nudism will still be allowed on the beach area and in the facilities of hotels and restaurants that allow it.
New restrictions for the tourist low season — roughly May through November — will also come into effect. Visitors and tour providers have been instructed that bars must close by 3 a.m. and lower their music starting at 2 a.m.
Those venues will only be allowed to host events Thursday through Sunday, and owners will face fines and other sanctions for failure to comply.
Zipolite’s popularity remained strong among tourists during the COVID-19 pandemic. Recently, the town has been booming: during the Easter vacation period, it registered 100% capacity.
With reports from El Universal Oaxaca
