Felipe Carrillo Puerto, Quintana Roo — Mexican authorities will allocate 40 million pesos (about $2 million USD) from the Fund for Contributions to Social Infrastructure for Indigenous and Afro-Mexican Peoples and Communities (FAISPIAM) to benefit more than 80 Maya communities in the municipality of Felipe Carrillo Puerto.
Alfaro Yam Canul, director of the National Institute of Indigenous Peoples (INPI) coordinating center in Felipe Carrillo Puerto, announced the funding at a press conference. He said the beneficiaries include 88 communities that make up the municipality, as well as 79 sub-delegations, eight delegations, and one mayoral office in the Yucatan Peninsula — all of which formed their community committees in a timely manner following community assemblies.
Yam Canul stated that INPI staff have monitored the process to ensure the assemblies comply with Article 2 of the Mexican Constitution, which recognizes indigenous peoples as subjects of public law with legal personality and their own assets.
Ángel Omar Gutiérrez, FAIS liaison for the INPI coordinating center in Felipe Carrillo Puerto, highlighted that these administration and oversight committees will have the authority to contract services for the projects each community selected as priorities during their assemblies.
According to Gutiérrez, residents chose urbanization projects, drinking water systems, electrification, housing improvements, and basic health infrastructure.
He said they are currently awaiting the release of funds and expect work on priority projects to begin within two months. “The communities have already decided,” officials concluded.
When asked why the municipal seat of Felipe Carrillo Puerto and the mayoral office of Tihosuco were not included in the National Catalog of Indigenous Peoples, INPI authorities explained that both locations exceed the population threshold to be classified as indigenous communities. However, they added that efforts will be made to secure resources for those areas so residents can address their own needs.
