Canaco Playa del Carmen’s SIEM 2025 Authorization Void

Playa del Carmen — Despite issuing a statement on August 29 claiming to have "addressed observations" made by the Ministry of Economy, Canaco Servytur Playa del Carmen continues to lack authorization to operate the Mexican Business Information System (SIEM) for the current 2025 fiscal year. This was officially confirmed to Quinta Fuerza by the SIEM itself through a response dated August 21, which states that the Chamber does not appear in the registry of authorized operators and, therefore, has no access to the official portal nor the legal authority to register establishments in the national system.

Over 5,000 Registrations Collected Without Validity

Internal sources indicate that the Chamber has collected payment for more than 5,000 registrations without having uploaded any to the official system. This implies that thousands of local businesses that paid to comply with a legal obligation are, in fact, in a state of non-compliance without knowing it.

The Ministry of Economy, through the General Directorate of Mercantile Normativity, was clear: "By not having valid authorization, the Chamber's staff do not have active user accounts to perform the registration of establishments in this system and are unable to capture the data." It added: "In case of having made any payment for the SIEM registration, it is important to approach the business chamber and request a refund of the disbursed resource, given that payment was made for a service that was not provided."

Consequences for Businesses

Businesses that paid Canaco Playa del Carmen:

• Are not registered in the SIEM, despite having paid.
• Are not legally fulfilling their business obligation.
• Could face problems with procedures, licenses, or tax audits for not being in the official registry.

The Ministry also established that, for authorized Chambers, the registration must be completed within 24 hours of payment, which has not occurred in any of the cases documented by this outlet.

The Space Provided by the Municipal Government

Despite not being authorized, the Treasury of the Solidaridad Municipal Government has granted Canaco Playa del Carmen physical space within its facilities to collect SIEM payments, through an institutional collaboration agreement signed in good faith. If the lack of legal compliance continues, this agreement could expose the municipal government to indirect administrative responsibilities, by having facilitated a public channel for a service that it is not legally authorized to provide.

Opacity, Conflicts of Interest, and Internal Control

Although business chambers have autonomy, the situation in Playa del Carmen has raised serious questions about its internal operation, particularly regarding the use of resources and possible conflicts of interest documented by this outlet.

According to the constitutive act of the Instituto Empresarial Maya Caribe A.C., obtained by this outlet, the founding partners are the president Adán Toledo Lucero, the Chamber's director María de Jesús Morales Velázquez, the former president and current counselor José Luis Hernández Barragán, and Rebeca Aurora González Ruiz, who as of January of this year served as Human Resources Director of Universidad Ducens.

According to internal sources, the creation of this Institute was carried out under the argument of being part of an educational project of the Chamber, proposed in 2023 by Adán Toledo in an ordinary session. However, the operational and corporate execution of the Institute remained outside the control of the Chamber institution, becoming a private business with potential particular benefits for those holding positions within the Chamber's board of directors.

It is worth recalling that these types of practices date back to the administration of Octavio Albores Sol, former president of the Chamber, who used the Canaco headquarters as the tax address for Universidad Ducens, in partnership with his brother and a former vice president. Although Albores is not a partner of the Instituto Empresarial Maya Caribe, Rebeca Aurora, a close collaborator of his, is listed as one of the partners, in addition to having been a collaborator at Ducens.

Diplomas: Income for a Select Few

According to counselors and section vice presidents consulted, José Luis Hernández Barragán is the one who concentrates the most teaching hours and the highest income derived from the diploma courses taught by the Chamber, particularly the Diploma in Real Estate Advisory, which has had more than 55 cohorts. Although a general report on this income was presented at the annual assembly this year, several board members describe the data as ambiguous and unclear. It has also not been reported whether the Chamber is up to date in paying its mandatory fees to CONCANACO.

A Vice President Without a License for Months

The election of Héctor René Paz Loreto as vice president of the Chamber generated controversy when it was revealed that he did not hold a license as a real estate agent, despite being registered as one. This situation is relevant because, in accordance with the Law on the Provision of Real Estate Services of the State of Quintana Roo, every provider of real estate services must have a valid license and accreditation issued by the Ministry of Sustainable Urban Territorial Development (SEDETUS).

Specifically, Article 28 of said law provides for a fine of 500 to 1,000 UMA for anyone who holds themselves out as a real estate agent without said license. Although Paz Loreto regularized his situation in September, he did so after having worked for months without a legally valid license, as revealed by Quinta Fuerza in its August 19 edition. His appointment was made in an assembly with less than 5% of the membership roster, whose notice was published solely in the newspaper Quequi. However, no members are known to have attended after seeing that notice; instead, they were contacted directly and selectively by director María de Jesús Morales, following the instruction of the president.

This informal system of selective notifications allows everything proposed by the president to be voted on unanimously, without questioning and without attendees being fully informed of the content of the decisions, which explains the institutional secrecy that currently governs the Chamber. Internal sources state that, colloquially, this system is known as "the system," and whoever rebels is excluded, which has created a closed environment, controlled by a few, with no added value for the members.

Conclusion

Canaco Servytur Playa del Carmen is currently in a delicate legal and institutional situation. On one hand, it lacks authorization to operate the SIEM, and on the other, it maintains an internal management questioned for practices of opacity, centralized control, and the use of resources for private purposes. This is compounded by the use of public facilities from the Municipal Government to provide a service they cannot legally offer, which could have administrative implications for the municipal authority if the current agreement is not reviewed.

Quinta Fuerza has documented this information based on official resolutions, constitutive acts, documents obtained through transparency requests, and verified testimonies. Those involved are guaranteed their right of reply, in accordance with Constitutional Article 6 and the Regulatory Law of the Right of Reply. This outlet requested comments from those named and will remain open to publishing their stance or clarifications.