Public outrage has erupted in Morelia, Michoacán, after municipal and state authorities initiated the removal of 613 trees to make way for the construction of the new Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system, known as the Morebús. The decision has sparked intense protests from local residents, environmental activists, and civic organizations who argue that the project threatens one of the city’s key urban green spaces.
The Morebús project was introduced earlier this year by Governor Alfredo Ramírez Bedolla as part of broader infrastructure and mobility initiatives under the federal government’s developmental plans for Michoacán. In its first phase, the transit system aims to connect the heavily populated Villas del Pedregal neighborhood with the Lázaro Cárdenas monument, projecting a daily capacity of over 80,000 passengers.
Despite the promised public transit improvements, the removal of decade-old trees has triggered severe ecological concerns. Morelia’s Secretary of Environment and Sustainability, Guadalupe Díaz Chagolla, confirmed that 613 trees are slated for removal along the transit corridor. Neighboring communities have highlighted that these trees serve as vital green lungs for the city, mitigating urban heat island effects, absorbing atmospheric pollutants, and providing shelter for local bird populations. Social media videos posted by local environmentalists show displaced wildlife affected by the clearing of the canopy.
In response, local residents are demanding an immediate halt to the clearing and requesting a comprehensive environmental impact assessment. Community members advocate for sustainable construction alternatives, including modern engineering solutions that integrate existing trees, as well as strict reforesting protocols. A petition titled “Detengan la tala de árboles para el Morebús en Morelia” has gained traction online via Change.org, urging citizens across Michoacán to demand sustainable modifications to the transit project.
As a measure of protest in Morelia, several women chained themselves to trees as a last-ditch effort to prevent them from being cut down. Neighbors and environmentalists organized watches to protect them, concerned also about the nests, birds, and small animals that had found refuge among their branches. “These trees don’t belong to us; they are a legacy for our children,” said one of the women, who also recounted how several people eventually left in tears, overcome by the helplessness of not being able to do more.
Just a week earlier, Morelia had been recognized as a “Tree City of the World.” Now, the Morebús construction project calls for the removal of 613 trees, many of them mature and decades old. Their branches provide shade and shelter for nests, their roots absorb rainfall, and their presence cools the streets; cutting them down means erasing in a few hours something that nature took decades to build. That was what those women were embracing with their whole bodies: not merely a piece of wood, but the living part of Morelia they wanted to leave to their children.
As tension mounts between urban modernization efforts and ecological preservation, residents emphasize that public transit improvements should not come at the expense of urban biodiversity. Readers interested in environmental policy and regional developments can track updates through
Sources: Infobae México / Gobierno del Estado de Michoacán
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