Pablo Bustamante Resigns as Quintana Roo Welfare Secretary, Fueling Political Speculation

Chetumal, Quintana Roo — Pablo Bustamante Beltrán resigned Monday as Quintana Roo’s secretary of welfare, a move widely seen as clearing the way for a mayoral bid in Cancun under the ruling Morena party’s banner.

Bustamante submitted his resignation in a letter posted on social media after attending a food aid distribution event led by Governor Mara Lezama Espinosa in Chetumal. In the letter, he said he was closing his cabinet chapter “in congruence with the ideals of President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo,” a reference to Sheinbaum’s call for officials with electoral ambitions to step down before seeking nominations.

Bustamante is expected to compete in Morena’s internal process to select a candidate for municipal president of Benito Juárez, which includes Cancun. He is a member of the Green Ecologist Party of Mexico (PVEM) and previously served as its state leader.

His resignation follows weeks of reduced presence at the welfare department’s headquarters in Chetumal, with staff reporting he had been focusing on Cancun. Employees told local media that nearly all of the department’s budget this year has been directed to the northern zone to bolster his public image.

The move also comes amid lingering questions about Bustamante’s ties to Jorge Brizuela Guevara, alias “El Venezolano,” a political operative and former ally of ex-Governor Carlos Joaquín González. In January, Brizuela claimed he mentored Bustamante and gave him 15 million pesos in cash — allegedly from state funds — to support the PVEM’s 2022 gubernatorial campaign. Brizuela also said they coordinated election-day operations, which he called “D-Day.”

Brizuela was arrested shortly after those statements on charges including attempted femicide, extortion, and threats. Bustamante has not publicly responded to the allegations.

In his resignation letter, Bustamante touted achievements under his leadership, including the Comemos Tod@s food program, which he called the largest in state history, and a reduction in poverty to its lowest level in 15 years. He thanked Governor Lezama for the opportunity to serve over the past eight years, including during her tenure as mayor of Benito Juárez.

“I close this cycle with the satisfaction of duty fulfilled and the certainty that we will continue working hand in hand to consolidate the second floor of the transformation in Quintana Roo,” Bustamante wrote.