Bacalar, Quintana Roo — Major infrastructure projects built by Mexico’s Secretariat of Agrarian, Territorial and Urban Development (Sedatu) in the tourist town of Bacalar are showing severe neglect just over four years after their inauguration, a victim of poor maintenance and limited use by local authorities.
The projects, part of Sedatu’s Urban Improvement Program, included a new municipal market, the El Aserradero public pool, the central park, an ecopark, and other works. The federal government invested roughly 200 million pesos (about $10 million) in the projects during the administration of former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador.
Market stands empty
The most emblematic failure is the new Municipal Market, a 6,000-square-meter building on Calle 30 with Calle 7. Designed to boost local commerce, it now stands virtually vacant. Of its more than 70 commercial stalls, only four or five remain open. Most vendors still operate from the old market, citing lack of foot traffic and services at the new site.
The building itself shows serious deficiencies: drainage problems, missing trash bins, and unauthorized modifications that altered the original design.
Park remodels spark controversy
The central park renovation proved controversial when workers demolished the iconic kiosk and replaced it with a larger palapa, drawing complaints from residents. The initial paving also made it difficult for people with disabilities to navigate, forcing the municipal government to make later adjustments. Years later, poor maintenance by the administration of Mayor José Alfredo “Chepe” Contreras has turned the cultural hub into a row of handicraft stalls.
Public pool collapsed
The El Aserradero public pool, designed as a multi-level natural swimming area, stopped working just weeks after opening. An entire section has now been filled with dirt to prevent rainwater from pooling and breeding mosquitoes.
Ecopark boardwalk cracking
The ecopark features a roughly 400-meter wooden boardwalk built over the mangrove swamp, which won an architectural award. But without regular protective treatments against humidity and sun, the wood is drying out and cracking, raising the risk of structural failure.
Residents are calling for an emergency maintenance program to salvage what remains of the largest federal investment in the municipality’s history.
