Urban Beach Lets City's Poor Enjoy Taste of Acapulco

It is the hottest time of year in Mexico City, and those who can afford it are fleeing to the coast. But while some are considering a snorkelling expedition over reefs in the turquoise Caribbean, and others are recovering from a night of excess at one of Acapulco's tacky beach discos, those left behind in the city can now also get sand in their hair.

The capital's leftwing government is opening four "urban oases" around the city, modelled on the famous riverside beaches in Paris and Rome. The idea, says the mayor, Marcelo Ebrard, is to let the poor have some fun too. With the minimum daily wage under £2, there are plenty who cannot afford to travel any further.

The idea has been ridiculed by some. One rightwing MP dismissed it as a joke, and it has triggered skits about sunbathers spluttering on bus fumes.

Other critics have said that the city authorities should not be ferrying in the sand until they have solved such basic issues as providing running water to all residents.

But the objections seemed churlish amid scenes of happy children splashing in paddling pools and building sand castles, while lovebirds canoodled on sunbeds, and friends threw themselves into games of beach volleyball. A tropical touch has been added by coconuts arranged artistically under trees, and pop music blares out to add to the party atmosphere. There have been complaints from beachgoers, however, over a ban on alcohol.

A woman in a swimming costume told national television that it had given her something new and fun to do with the three grandchildren she looks after during the holidays while her daughter is at work.

The first beach, which opened this week, was built in a park overlooked by a large housing estate nestled between the capital's biggest ring road and its main north-south artery. The other three are also being constructed in parks similarly surrounded by urban sprawl.