Sheraton Maria Isabel Hotel and Towers

The Sheraton Maria Isabel Hotel and Towers is a member of the United States-owned Sheraton Hotels and Resorts chain. Sheraton María Isabel is located on Paseo de la Reforma in the exclusive Zona Rosa business and shopping district just across from El Ángel de la Independencia in Mexico City.

On February 4, 2006 this hotel was involved in an international incident when a group of Cuban delegates where expelled from the hotel upon pressure from the United States Department of Commerce to enforce the embargo against Cuba. This act, however, is in violation of the 1996 Law of Protection of Commerce and Investments from Foreign Policies that Contravene International Law that prohibits companies that are located in Mexico from blocking commerce and investments that are caused by the application of foreign laws.

Hotel Sheraton released a statement, on February 8, denying discrimination based on national origin. They also mentioned that the rooms were booked and paid for by an American company it could not possibly have kept any funds and send them to the government of the United States.^[1]

The unit of the government of Mexico responsible for the protection of consumers, the Procuraduría Federal del Consumidor (Profeco), declared it is unable to close the hotel because such measure is only applicable on repeated violations. However, it has estimated a fine for the hotel for up to a million pesos (roughly 96,000 dollars) but none of the Cuban officials had presented a complaint.^[2]

After this incident, a written complaint of zoning violations was presented to the borough delegate, Virginia Jaramillo of the Party of the Democratic Revolution, of Cuauhtémoc, D.F., the borough of Federal District (D.F.) where the hotel is located. After a revision it was found that the hotel was in violation of zoning regulations because of 3,000 unauthorized square meters and lack of parking spaces. After this revision the borough delegate of Cuauhtémoc declared the closing of this establishment to be imminent.^[3] Other violations such as lack of restaurant menus in Braille may be corrected by the deadline given by the delegate, but Jaramillo explains it is impossibly to destroy part of the building or to build more parking spaces before that time.

Footnotes

1. ^ (Spanish) Niega Hotel Sheraton discriminación a cubanos ("Sheraton Hotel denies any discrimination against Cubans"), accessed on February 9, 2006
2. ^ (Spanish) Desestima Profeco clausurar hotel Sheraton ("Profeco estimates that it will not close Sheraton hotel"), accessed on February 9, 2006
3. ^ (Spanish) Inminente clausura del Sheraton: delegada ("Imminent closing of the Sheraton, says delegate") Retrieved February 9, 2006.

See also

• List of Sheraton Hotels

External links

• Official site
• The Sheraton is not an isolated case by Gabriel Molina