Located in the region of the second largest coral reef barrier in the world, the village of Xcalak on the Caribbean coast of Mexico has a population of 537 inhabitants. The discussion about establishing an MPA there started in 1996, led by an NGO in collaboration with foreign scientists and the US development agency. Being aware of the fishers’ concern over the decline of marine resources, the NGO invited them to join forces. One of the first steps was to organize a visit to a Marine Reserve in Belize. Afterwards, the NGO and the community formed a committee to develop the MPA proposal. The community goal was to develop low impact tourism to complement fishing activities. After years of political struggle, especially with the state government, which was not in favour of the MPA, the declaration was signed. Though the community was the main proponent of the MPA, later in the process its participation was weakened by other stakeholders, suchas scientists from the regional university, who took control of the process. New powerful groups within the community and social challenges (i.e. drug trafficking) have emerged, making it more difficult for the community to take part in the marine resource management (Chuenpagdee et al., 2013).