Civic Group Says Tulum Mayor Has Failed to Establish Environmental Fee Trust

Tulum, Quintana Roo — The civic group Tulum Unido is pressing Mayor Diego Castañón Trejo to make good on a pledge to create a trust for the city’s Environmental Sanitation Fee (DSA), saying the public has no idea how much the fee raises or how the money is spent.

In a statement, the group said that during the “La Voz del Pueblo” town hall on July 22, municipal authorities publicly promised Gov. Mara Lezama that the trust would be signed within two weeks — a deadline that expires this week. Tulum Unido noted that Castañón has failed to establish the mechanism across his two terms in office.

The group said it will monitor the commitment closely to ensure it does not stop at declarations. It is calling first for a formal session to sign the trust, and then for the creation of a plural technical council to administer it. The central goal, Tulum Unido said, is for residents to know how much money is collected, how it is managed, and which projects it funds.

The group argues the revenue should support strategic projects such as a solid waste treatment plant, which would eliminate the 70 million pesos the municipality pays Playa del Carmen each year to haul away its garbage; sargassum collection and beach cleaning; a wastewater treatment plant; and circular economy and recycling initiatives.

The demand echoes one made by Tulum hoteliers at the June 10 installation of the Municipal Tourism Advisory Council, when they urged Castañón to establish the trust and apply the funds to sargassum control. The issue is especially important to hoteliers because Castañón changed the way the fee is collected, charging per tourist rather than per room, similar to the lodging tax.

A trust would provide oversight, administration and accountability for the money collected, Tulum Unido said, and would allow key sectors to participate in overseeing its use.

“Public commitments must be kept. Tulum deserves transparency and results,” the group said.