Felipe Carrillo Puerto’s Poverty Crisis

FELIPE CARRILLO PUERTO, Quintana Roo — Felipe Carrillo Puerto, the historic and cultural heart of the Maya zone of Quintana Roo, now stands as the clearest mirror of the contradictions in the south of the state. In official discourse, the municipality is portrayed as a territory of hope, with "major social works," "urban renewal," and "support for indigenous communities." Yet behind the government's rhetoric lies an administration that has been accused of opacity, diversion of public resources, and budgetary misappropriations that worsen the poverty of a population surviving on less than the minimum.

During the current three-year administration, financial reports and public spending reviews show an alarming deterioration in municipal management. The numbers do not lie: Felipe Carrillo Puerto remains the most disadvantaged municipality in Quintana Roo, with 78.6 percent of its population in a situation of poverty and 38.4 percent in extreme poverty, according to the latest official records from the National Council for the Evaluation of Social Development Policy (CONEVAL).

The Legacy of Corruption

In reports from the Superior Auditor of the Federation (ASF) corresponding to the 2022 and 2023 fiscal years, financial observations document over 43 million pesos in the management of the Municipal Social Infrastructure Contributions Fund (FISM) and the Fund for the Strengthening of Municipalities (FORTAMUN).

Unfinished or Non-Existent Works. The ASF detected 15 social infrastructure projects left unfinished, despite being reported as completed. Among them are paving projects, rehabilitation of rural roads, and potable water systems in communities such as Tepich, Tihosuco, and Chunhuhub. Collectively, these works represent over 17.2 million pesos that are unaccounted for.

Duplicate Payments and Overcosts. Contracts with overpricing of up to 35 percent were documented for the purchase of construction materials, fuel, and heavy machinery. In total, the ASF estimated potential damage to the public treasury of 11.8 million pesos in 2023.

Current Expenditure Disguised as Social Investment. The audit revealed that more than 9 million pesos from the FISM were used for current expenditure, such as payroll payments, per diems, administrative consulting, and "social promotion events," which violates the fund's operating rules.

The Network of Phantom Companies

This is compounded by alleged irregular contracts with companies without a verifiable tax address. At least five suppliers registered between 2022 and 2024 have characteristics of shell companies: non-existent addresses, business sectors unrelated to the services contracted, and minimal capital.

Contracts under investigation include those awarded to "Constructora Mulkab S.A. de C.V." and "Servicios Integrales Mayab del Caribe S. de R.L.," which together received over 12 million pesos for "urban improvement works" and "park rehabilitation," projects that on-site show barely 15 percent physical progress.

The Social Abyss: The Unyielding Poverty

While public resources vanish amid opacity and suspicions of corruption, social indicators remain stagnant or worsen. CONEVAL reports that 8 out of every 10 inhabitants of Felipe Carrillo Puerto live in poverty, and 4 out of every 10 live in extreme poverty.

The deprivation index for access to basic services reaches 71 percent, while educational backwardness affects 38 percent of the adult population. The municipality also has an average monthly per capita income of just 2,220 pesos, below the state average of 4,893 pesos. In rural communities, income can fall to as low as 1,500 pesos per month, insufficient even for the basic food basket.

The Invisible Communities

In localities such as Señor, Chunpom, Dzula, and Tepich, residents report a constant lack of potable water, ruined roads, and health centers without staff or medicines. Meanwhile, the municipal budget for "social communication and institutional promotion" grew by 62 percent in the last year, suggesting a political use of resources to whitewash the public image of the administration.

The total expenditure executed by the municipality in 2024 exceeded 480 million pesos, but more than 60 percent was concentrated on payroll, consulting, and communication, leaving just 18 percent for effective public investment.

A Municipality in Retreat

Compared to other municipalities in the Maya zone and the center of the state—such as José María Morelos or Bacalar—Felipe Carrillo Puerto shows lower coverage of basic services, lower economic growth, and greater dependence on federal transfers. While José María Morelos managed to reduce its extreme poverty by 4 percentage points between 2020 and 2023, Felipe Carrillo Puerto increased it by almost 2 percentage points, evidencing a structural regression.

The Political Silence

Despite the accusations, the current administration has responded with silence or evasiveness. Public information requests regarding the exact amounts of social spending or public works contracts have been answered partially or classified for "administrative security," constituting a violation of the Law on Transparency and Access to Public Information.

Local officials close to the mayor have been accused of conflicts of interest, particularly in the direct allocation of works to companies linked to relatives and former campaign collaborators.

The Open Wound of the South

Felipe Carrillo Puerto is not only facing a financial crisis; it is experiencing a crisis of legitimacy. Every unaccounted peso, every unfinished work, and every audit with unresolved observations represents a school without a roof, a dry well, a destroyed road, and another family sunk deeper into poverty.

The south of Quintana Roo remains the forgotten frontier of development. While the lights of tourism shine in Cancún or Tulum, the Maya towns in the heart of the state continue to wait for the millions announced in press releases to someday reach their reality.

Felipe Carrillo Puerto is trapped between structural abandonment and institutionalized corruption. The documented financial misappropriations, persistent social backwardness, and lack of government transparency configure a scenario of managed poverty and simulated development. The municipality, once a symbol of Maya resistance, is now a victim of its own government.