Former Mayor Faces Arrest in Land Sale Scandal

Playa del Carmen, Mexico — Former PAN party mayor Roxana Lili is facing an imminent arrest for the alleged illegal sale of municipal land, having favored her close associates with properties sold at a fraction of their market value just weeks before leaving office. She is under investigation for crimes including abuse of public power, embezzlement, and other aggravating factors related to public service.

Favored Associates Now in Custody

The investigation centers on the sale of two plots of land, part of the municipal patrimony, to Jorge Zavaleta and Ariadne Vázquez Canul, both of whom are now in custody. Vázquez Canul served as Lili's personal secretary during her term as municipal president.

According to folios from the Public Registry of Property and Commerce, a plot located in the southern zone of the Cristo Rey colony, near the exclusive Ciudad Mayakobá developments, was assigned to Vázquez Canul. In the case of Jorge Zavaleta, the bill of sale appears only in his most recent patrimonial declaration, which was filed when he was serving as the subdirector of Urban Development and Cityscape in the current municipal administration.

A Last-Minute Sale at a Fraction of Value

The two plots were acquired on August 30, 2024, just four weeks before Roxana Lili left public office. The government, still headed by her, sold the land for 13,575 pesos—a price nearly 500 times less than its commercial value, constituting what investigators describe as a massive bargain for her allies.

Zavaleta had managed to become a official under Roxana Lili and later sought a position in the current municipal government under Mayor Estefanía Mercado, allegedly in an attempt to create confusion and evade a detention that was already foreseen.

Legal Proceedings Underway

To date, neither Zavaleta nor Vázquez Canul have appealed their formal charging or the imposition of pre-trial detention measures, neither in a second instance nor through an appeal for constitutional protection (amparo).

Sources consulted confirm that this week Jorge Zavaleta received visitors at the Municipal Detention Center of Playa del Carmen. As a lawyer, he is reportedly seeking to buy time to secure his release from jail through a substantial appeal for the revocation of his pre-trial detention. However, the affected residents, who are in possession of land in Cristo Rey, are said to be in a stronger legal position.

Background of Community Outcry

The case came to light after residents of the Cristo Rey colony denounced the act, as well as alleged influence peddling. The State Attorney General's Office is investigating the former mayor for acts of corruption committed at the end of her administration. The investigations point to a presumed scheme of dispossession against the community.