Tulum Hotel Fires Staff After Protesting Labor Abuse

TULUM — The Secretariat of National Defense (SEDENA), through the controversial Grupo Mundo Maya, has found itself at the center of a storm following an episode of labor repression that exposes the abuses of power by its leadership. A group of workers from the Hotel Mundo Maya Tulum held a peaceful protest against the abuse, labor harassment, and humiliation inflicted by military and administrative managers. However, far from addressing their complaints, the employees were forced to sign their resignations under psychological pressure, without their cell phones, locked one by one in an office, and under the threat of being falsely accused of theft.

According to testimonies, General Adolfo Héctor Tonatiuh Velazco Bernal, the general director of Grupo Mundo Maya and the hotel itself, directly ordered the dismissals. Workers point to him, along with the division sub-manager of rooms, Marco Antonio Torres Martínez, of systematically harassing, threatening, and humiliating the staff.

One female employee recounted: "The sub-manager constantly threatens to fire us, punishes us without any reason, and dedicates himself to humiliating us. And instead of supporting us, General Velazco Bernal also insults and degrades us."

The dismissal operation was executed by three high-ranking officials from the corporate office: Esteban Alberto Morales González, director of Grupo Mundo Maya; Ulises García Guerrero, legal sub-director; and Samai Yossajandl Martínez Rojas, human resources sub-director. They were the ones who pressured the workers to sign their definitive exit.

The affected employees demanded the intervention of President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo, pointing out that this problem has involved more than nine months of systematic abuse without any attention.

Decadence of Grupo Mundo Maya

Internal sources revealed that this outrage will not be an isolated incident: a massive layoff of golf cart drivers is imminent, which would aggravate the internal crisis. The reason: mismanagement, diversion of resources, and the collapse of tourism due to excessive charges at the Jaguar Park, another business controlled by SEDENA.

Since the military company GAFSACOMM was created in 2022, rebranded in 2025 as Grupo Mundo Maya, the results have been a failure. Projects done hastily, accumulated debts, and operations in the red contrast with the enrichment of military commanders, who appear to use these tourism businesses as a petty cash fund.

This new labor scandal confirms what civil organizations and local business owners have been denouncing: the militarization of tourism in Tulum has not brought development, but rather authoritarianism, corruption, and repression.

While the Defense Secretariat's tourism projects crumble, the workers—who are the true engine of the industry—end up being the first victims of management marked by opacity and abuse of power.