Playa del Carmen Mayor Estefanía Mercado Outlines Security and Investment Plans to Business Leaders

Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo — Mayor Estefanía Mercado met with executives of the employers’ group Coparmex Riviera Maya to present her administration’s advances on security and sargassum and to hear concerns and proposals from the private sector.

During the meeting, whose local president is Carlos Marín Morales, Mercado said her government is open to all voices. “We came to listen to you and to present the solutions we have from the government,” she said. “If you have proposals, the doors are open.”

Mercado said that with strong support from the state government, a major investment by the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) is coming to address power outages. She added that her administration will not approve new housing developments without upfront investments in infrastructure and services.

The mayor also said that once approved by the city council, business owners and investors with premises on Fifth Avenue will receive a 50 percent discount on tax incentives, part of an effort to reactivate the local economy. She announced the creation of a financial district tied to the new Urban Development Program, which she described as a roadmap for the next 30 years of growth.

In public safety, Mercado said the municipality has the highest per-capita spending on security in the country and highlighted a drop in homicides in July.

On sargassum, she said Playa del Carmen has dedicated more than 100 million pesos of its own resources to the problem, with more than 300 Mexican Navy personnel and Zofemat workers involved in the work. Mercado added that President Claudia Sheinbaum’s federal government will invest 2 billion pesos to combat the seaweed.

She also said business leaders were given a copy of the new civil protection rules ahead of publication so the municipality can include their comments.

“There are many problems to solve, and that is why we are here today, to listen to all the comments and suggestions,” Mercado said. “Anything that involves building strengthens our government.”