Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo — On the 33rd anniversary of its founding as a municipality, Playa del Carmen’s official chronicler offered a blunt assessment: the city is stuck in time and not living up to its potential.
Raymundo Tineo Celaya, the city’s lifetime chronicler, recalled that when the municipality of Solidaridad (now Playa del Carmen) was created in 1993, the primary challenge was to break free from Cozumel’s political dominance. Today, he said, the main challenge is to stop being governed by people from outside the area.
“The only mayor born in Playa del Carmen was Román Quiam Alcocer,” Tineo Celaya said, adding that the city needs another leader with deep roots who understands local problems. He expressed concern about the lack of homegrown political candidates to take over.
Tineo Celaya described the city’s progress as “cheap,” pointing to the proliferation of working-class neighborhoods while only the downtown area is well-maintained — and that area is now severely overcrowded and lacks sufficient access roads.
He also cited a drop in tourism due to massive sargassum seaweed arrivals and emerging infrastructure deficiencies. “I see a Playa stuck in time,” he concluded. “Playa del Carmen is not going through its best moment.”
