Playa del Carmen Installs 2026 Youth Council With 18 Adolescent Members

Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo — The municipal government of Playa del Carmen has sworn in 18 young people to its 2026 Adolescent Cabildo, a civic program that gives teenagers a seat inside local government and a say in how the city is run.

Mayor Estefanía Mercado led the initiative. The formal installation session took place in the Leona Vicario hall of the city’s new municipal palace, where each of the 18 members received an official appointment along with gifts and badges from their counterparts on the adult council.

Municipal secretary general Luis Herrera Quiam presided over the ceremony on the mayor’s behalf, accompanied by municipal trustee Agustín Aguilar Méndez and José Gabriel Pérez Álvarez, director of the municipal Youth Institute.

Herrera Quiam told the new members that their proposals would be taken into account, arguing that no one understands young people’s needs better than young people themselves. He urged them to take on the responsibility with enthusiasm, respect and commitment so that their ideas can become reality.

Pérez Álvarez said adolescents are not only the future of Playa del Carmen but an active part of its present, and he pledged to work alongside them on their initiatives. He also thanked parents for supporting the process.

Youth Council Approves Transport Proposal

The new body then held its first ordinary session, chaired by adolescent mayor Diana Patricia Rivera Sánchez, with Edgar Mateo Sánchez Avelar as adolescent secretary general and Sofía Maribel Virgilio Basto as adolescent municipal trustee.

Members presented the topics and proposals raised during the selection process, covering needs and problems in their communities. They unanimously approved an initiative called Ruta Joven, Comunidad Joven (Youth Route, Youth Community), introduced by second councilor Andrea López Hernández, which calls for extending public transport routes to underserved areas to improve connectivity and mobility across the city.

Full Membership of the 2026 Adolescent Cabildo

• Diana Patricia Rivera Sánchez — adolescent mayor
• Edgar Mateo Sánchez Avelar — adolescent secretary general
• Sofía Maribel Virgilio Basto — adolescent municipal trustee
• Jennifer Priscila Taracena González — first councilor
• Andrea López Hernández — second councilor
• Daniela Reyes Reyes — third councilor
• Jade Saraí Novelo Cruz — fourth councilor
• René Altair León Moreno — fifth councilor
• Mayte Alejandra Pérez Yah — sixth councilor
• Carmen Estrella Hernández de la Cruz — seventh councilor
• Denia Dulcamara Flores Davis — eighth councilor
• Saulo Josué Cámara Ramírez — ninth councilor
• André Nicolás López Fuentes — tenth councilor
• Kiara Yuliana Téllez Torrez — eleventh councilor
• Gabriel González Hernández — twelfth councilor
• José Carlos Yam Castro — thirteenth councilor
• Ana Belén Castellanos López — fourteenth councilor
• Tadeo Kamel Uc Cordero — fifteenth councilor