4 Mayan Words at Center of Yucatán Legal Fight

Federal authorities have opened a new window for Maya communities in Yucatán to weigh in on complaints that two real estate developers appropriated Mayan words commercially without permission.

A notice published Sept. 18 in Yucatán’s official state gazette, printed in both Spanish and Mayan, gives people who identify with the Maya pueblo in Campeche, Quintana Roo and Yucatán 15 business days to say whether they believe the use of four words harms their collective cultural rights.

The first case, filed by members of the Maya People and the Gran Consejo Maya of Quintana Roo, targets Altura 1704 Proyectos and Carmen Esther Hernández Villaseñor over the word “Kuxtal,” meaning life, used to brand a housing development. The second, brought by five Maya community members, challenges Desarrolladora Gredos, KL4 Construcciones and José Antonio Vázquez Cortazar over “Myakaan,” “Mayakaan” and “Ka’an,” names attached to other residential complexes.

The National Institute of Indigenous Peoples determined that all four words form part of the collective cultural heritage of Maya communities in the three states, based on the National Catalog of Indigenous Languages. The National Copyright Institute, known as Indautor, is handling both cases as administrative infringement proceedings under the Federal Law for the Protection of the Cultural Heritage of Indigenous and Afro-Mexican Peoples and Communities.

Protected words

That 2023 law recognizes such heritage as collectively owned, not for sale and not subject to loss through disuse, meaning outside companies need the community’s consent before using it commercially. Anyone who wants to weigh in must submit a signed or thumb-printed statement naming the person or community they represent, along with an address in Mexican territory.

The cases follow a broader pattern of Maya communities pushing back against commercial use of their language and symbols. Earlier this year, Mexico’s Supreme Court ordered Grupo Xcaret to stop using Maya cultural elements in its parks, hotels and advertising without community consent, a ruling grounded in a 2024 constitutional reform on indigenous autonomy over cultural heritage. The current cases apply that same principle to a different kind of business: residential real estate marketed under Maya names, a common practice across the peninsula’s fast-growing housing sector.

Neither developer named in the notice has issued a public response.

The word Kuxtal is also widely known locally through the Cuxtal Ecological Reserve south of Mérida, a protected area that supplies much of the city’s drinking water, an example of how deeply these terms are woven into everyday life in the region,

For Maya organizations involved in the complaints, the fight is less about the specific developments and more about setting a precedent: that Indigenous language carries legal weight, not just cultural value, and companies can’t borrow it freely for branding.

With reporting from La Jornada Maya and Yucatán’s official state gazette

Fast Facts

• Words in dispute: Kuxtal, Myakaan, Mayakaan, Ka’an
• Response window: 15 business days from the Sept. 18 notice
• Agency handling the cases: Instituto Nacional del Derecho de Autor (Indautor)
• States covered: Campeche, Quintana Roo, Yucatán
• Legal basis: Federal Law for the Protection of the Cultural Heritage of Indigenous and Afro-Mexican Peoples and Communities