Isla Mujeres Boardwalk Safety Concerns Amid Lighting Issues

Isla Mujeres, Mexico — The tranquility that the eastern boardwalk of Isla Mujeres offers in the afternoons disappears when the sun sets.

The complaint of a neighbor on social media revealed the darkest side of this seaside promenade. A group of four young men, allegedly from Chiapas and in a state of drunkenness, insulted her, threatened her, and tried to attack her near the Aguakán pumping station 10 while she was walking her dog.

“They were bothered that I was a woman and a foreigner; when I threatened to call the police, they mocked me and said that ‘in Isla Mujeres, the Chiapas people are in charge’,” recounted the woman, who has permanent residence in Mexico. Two other men who were exercising assisted her; however, the police never arrived and the aggression went unpunished.

Boardwalk in Darkness and Without Surveillance

The events occurred around 10:00 p.m., between the Las Fragatas park and the end of the boardwalk. That stretch, neighbors denounce, has been without public lighting for months; only the first 300 meters of the 1,100 that comprise the promenade have streetlights, and the remaining ones went out after recent hurricanes.

The darkness combines with the deterioration of the structure built in 1989, where the rebars are exposed and railings are missing, turning the area into fertile ground for criminals. Some residents have installed lamps on their own, but this has not been enough to discourage those who take advantage of the lack of light to harass or steal.

Paradoxically, the Isla Mujeres City Council boasted in 2025 about the installation of nearly 600 surveillance cameras with artificial intelligence and the inauguration of a new C2 Control Center in Costa Mujeres, from where key points of the municipality are monitored.

The cameras promise facial recognition and movement detection in seconds; although, the complainant assures that there are no cameras installed on the boardwalk and that they do not work.

“I am looking for someone who has recordings of what happened, but the camera I found does not see anything because it is very dark,” she lamented.

A Social Problem That Demands Action

The episode is not isolated; the same woman stated that the same young men harassed her days before and that other neighbors have had similar experiences.

Although in Isla Mujeres there coexist workers originally from Chiapas, Tabasco, and other states who contribute to local development, the presence of drunken groups that take over the boardwalk reflects the absence of empathy and respect that heightens the feeling of insecurity.

“Here there are very good and hardworking people from Chiapas, but there are also those who come to commit crimes; that happens everywhere. The solution is not to stigmatize, but to prevent,” claimed the affected woman.

Therefore, inhabitants and merchants ask Mayor Atenea Gómez Ricalde to reinforce police presence on the eastern boardwalk, replace the LED streetlights along the entire route, and, above all, connect the area to the C2 surveillance system.

The authorities have invested tens of millions of pesos in underground cabling and modernizing public lighting in other areas, but the tourist promenade continues without attention.

Neighborhood associations suggest regular patrols by Citizen Security, installation of panic buttons, and awareness campaigns so that islanders and visitors respect public spaces.

While the authorities design “responses,” the recommendation for those who walk on the boardwalk is to avoid walking alone at night, seek alternative illuminated routes, and report any act of harassment.

The boardwalk is one of the symbols of Isla Mujeres and should not be synonymous with fear; transforming it into a safe space is a shared challenge that requires real surveillance, functioning public services, and a community willing to take care of each other.