Danna Ramírez Seeks Playa del Carmen Mayoralty From Council Seat Won by Court Ruling

Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo — Danna Ramírez Saldaña is positioning herself as a candidate for the Playa del Carmen mayoralty in 2027, but her path to the city council came through a court ruling, not the ballot box.

Ramírez Saldaña, who heads the local chapter of the National Action Party (PAN), has used both her council seat and party leadership to build a public profile. She regularly presents proposals, tours neighborhoods and poses for photos with residents. In September 2025, she retained the party leadership with 91 votes against 65 for Jimena Palafox.

A Seat Won in Court

Ramírez Saldaña did not win her seat in the June 2, 2024, election. She was sworn in on Nov. 22, 2024, after the city council complied with ruling JDC/053/2024 issued by the Electoral Tribunal of Quintana Roo. The ruling revoked the appointment of Kira Iris San, an alternate for then-mayoral candidate Roxana Lili Campos Miranda, and ordered the next person on the coalition list for the Fuerza y Corazón por Quintana Roo alliance to take the position. The Xalapa regional chamber of the federal electoral court (TEPJF) later upheld the decision.

Earlier, during the campaign, Ramírez Saldaña and fellow councilor Juan Humberto Novelo Zapata faced a complaint from Morena over an alleged violation of electoral equity. The Electoral Tribunal found the alleged conduct did not occur.

The manner of her arrival drew criticism. During the city council’s live broadcast, social media users called her a “climber” and a “sellout” and questioned whether she had done any visible political work before joining the party. Ramírez Saldaña has said she has been attacked and denigrated over her private life.

Her appointment came during the PAN’s most decisive defeat in the municipality in years and amid an internal dispute over proportional representation seats.

Minority Opposition and a Weak Party

As a minority councilor in a chamber controlled by the governing coalition, Ramírez Saldaña has focused on the Human Rights Commission. She has pushed for inspections of liquefied-gas plants and vehicles, documented water utility Aguakan’s failures in neighborhoods such as Villas del Sol, and promoted workshops on gender violence and gender equity. She is among the council’s most active members in submitting proposals, though in a body where the majority sets the agenda, such proposals often stay at the level of advocacy and statements.

The PAN chapter she leads shows few signs of recovery. Polls ahead of the 2027 election put the party at about 18 percent support, far behind Morena. The party has not expanded its formal membership, and local leaders have acknowledged that it is sympathizers, not registered members, who sustain the party’s presence. Ramírez Saldaña speaks of territorial work, opening doors to citizens and recovering the PAN’s “humanism,” but the walks and events have not produced measurable results or a shift in voter preference.

A Political Profile Still Unproven

Before joining the council, Ramírez Saldaña held no senior position in municipal, state or business administration. Her profile has been built almost entirely within the PAN structure and through a council seat obtained by judicial order. That limitation matters in a municipality where voters have favored candidates with governing experience or a strong grassroots presence.

Critics say controlling the municipal committee allows her to promote herself, but it does not guarantee the party will be competitive in 2027. The PAN lost City Hall in 2024 after Lilí Campos’s term, and the margin was wide. Recovering that ground, they argue, requires more than community walks and council proposals — it requires a stronger party structure and a message that connects with voters who, in several surveys, say they would not vote for anyone.

The 2027 election will determine whether Ramírez Saldaña’s control of the party apparatus is enough to secure the nomination — and whether the weight of arriving by court ruling and leading a weak, divided party ends up defining her political ceiling.