Cozumel Opens New DIF PILARES Community Center With Classes, Sports and Health Services

Cozumel, Quintana Roo — Governor Mara Lezama Espinosa and Verónica Lezama Espinosa, honorary president of the DIF Quintana Roo welfare system, inaugurated the DIF PILARES Community Development Center in Cozumel, a facility officials say will expand access to wellness and personal development programs for island families.

The center, located in the Adolfo López Mateos neighborhood, is designed as a safe, accessible and inclusive space where children, teenagers, women, older adults and the general public can learn, socialize, build new skills, play sports, receive guidance and strengthen their life plans.

Lezama said the DIF PILARES model is built on five main pillars: health, education, economy, sports and culture, with a comprehensive approach meant to address a range of community needs and give residents tools to improve their lives.

“Today we are inaugurating a space, but above all we are inaugurating opportunities,” she said. “Opportunities to learn, to grow, to discover talents, to take care of our health and to build new life projects.”

The governor said the initiative reflects a humanitarian government with a feminist outlook that promotes people-centered public policies and aims to extend well-being to every corner of Quintana Roo, in line with the national transformation led by Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo.

Officials said the project relies on coordinated work across federal, state and municipal agencies, various areas of the DIF Quintana Roo system, volunteers and other partners.

Facilities and Programs

The Cozumel center includes a multipurpose hall, an open-air area, three classrooms for courses and workshops, and a consultation room offering psychological and nutritional care.

Courses and activities include tailoring and dressmaking, pedagogy, crafts, baking, art, boxing, sports, dance, painting and physical education, alongside psychological and nutritional services for children and teenagers in the PILARES program, as well as for mothers, fathers, guardians and the general public.

The center operates with 20 staff members, including administrative personnel, psychology, nutrition and pedagogy professionals, community outreach workers, workshop instructors, volunteers and social service interns.

Lezama said the launch of PILARES in Cozumel stemmed from the need to broaden care and development options through safe spaces that encourage learning, community participation, productive use of free time and stronger families. She added that planning, space renovations, activity scheduling and institutional coordination were carried out ahead of the opening to ensure quality, comprehensive services.

The DIF Quintana Roo system now runs seven DIF PILARES Community Development Centers, a model that prioritizes services for children and teenagers while also serving other groups such as women who head households and older adults.

At the Cozumel location, the program mainly targets children and teenagers between the ages of 5 and 17 years and 11 months, with workshops and activities designed to build their abilities and support their physical and emotional well-being. The center currently serves 35 beneficiaries and has a capacity of 75 people.

Verónica Lezama credited workshop instructors, volunteers and DIF coordination teams for making the space possible.

“When we work together, we go further. PILARES is exactly that: the sum of wills, abilities and efforts so that families have more and better opportunities,” she said.

She said investing in children and teenagers means building better opportunities for communities now and in the future.

“When we invest in our girls, boys and teenagers, we are investing in the present and the future of Cozumel,” she said. “When we give tools to a woman who heads a household, we also strengthen her home; and when we create spaces for participation for older adults, we recognize their experience and strengthen our community.”

Verónica Lezama added that the goal is to keep bringing services, programs and opportunities to communities across Quintana Roo, particularly to priority groups.

“Today Cozumel has a new space to learn, create, share, take care of oneself and grow,” she said. “This is the heart of PILARES: building well-being with families and for families.”