In Texas, critics warn Boca Chica park sale could turn 'the people's beach' private

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott would not say whether he backs a potential sale of Boca Chica State Park, the beachfront area beside Elon Musk's Starbase near Brownsville.

The uncertainty raises questions about whether public land will remain public when a billionaire's business interests are nearby.

Here's what to know

According to the Houston Chronicle, Abbott said he does not know the details of a possible Boca Chica State Park sale and added, "What I know is that that's not coming up for a vote anytime soon." The dispute involves 1,300 acres in Cameron County.

Texas Monthly reported that the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission was expected to take up the possible sale of 1,300 acres in Cameron County during a closed-door executive session on Nov. 5. The magazine also reported that a commission spokeswoman said it "is not considering the sale of the Boca Chica property at its November meeting."

In defending his position, Abbott pointed to his parks record. "No state in America has been adding more parkland than what I've done and what Texas has done," he said, according to the Chronicle, adding, "I want to continue to preserve our parkland in the state of Texas."

More background

The possible transaction has become part of a wider attack by Gina Hinojosa, Abbott's Democratic challenger and an Austin state representative, on what she calls "corporate welfare," according to the Chronicle. 

Hinojosa, who grew up in Brownsville, described Boca Chica in deeply personal terms. "That is the people's beach — that is the working man's beach in South Texas," she said. "It is such a shame that the people of Texas are being sold out. Even our beaches are being given over to Greg Abbott's biggest donor, or one of his biggest donors."

Part of that argument rests on Musk's $500,000 contribution to Abbott's reelection campaign. Hinojosa has used the potential sale to argue that ordinary Texans can lose out when wealthy donors and public officials are closely aligned.

A state park preserves shared access to the coastline for local families and visitors, while a sale next to Starbase would place that public land in private hands.

Critics say the proposal would diminish the public benefit of a site with deep community and recreational value.

What's being done?

The commission spokeswoman said the Boca Chica sale is not on the agenda for the Nov. 5 meeting, suggesting any decision has at least been postponed.

Hinojosa is also pursuing access to communications between Abbott and Musk that the governor's office withheld from the Texas Newsroom, according to the Chronicle. She sought those records in her official role as a state representative, saying they could bear on issues within the Legislature's responsibility.

In the lawsuit, she points to the possible park sale as one reason the records are relevant. Speaking at a press conference, Hinojosa said "it's hard to know" whether the communications discuss the proposed land transfer, "but that is definitely the state's business."

Abbott cast the lawsuit as "another act of desperation," and said Hinojosa was trying "to grasp at straws to get attention."

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