Puerto Morelos Mayor Faces Criminal Complaint Over Permits

PUERTO MORELOS — The government of Blanca Merari, Mayor of Puerto Morelos, has been named in a criminal complaint for alleged crimes against urban development and the environment, accused of irregularly issuing construction permits for real estate developments.

In a historic event, the mayor of the state's eleventh municipality is facing a potential investigation that could involve not only matters of urban development and the environment but also criminal elements that may be taken up by the Specialized Prosecutor's Office for Combating Corruption.

The criminal complaint was filed by the civil association Defendiendo el Derecho a un Medio Ambiente Sano (DMAS), which in recent months has been promoting legal actions against real estate developments being executed in the coastal zone without permits from all three levels of government. Some of these environmentally impactful projects are closely related to the protected natural area Manglares de Puerto Morelos, which was decreed a reserve during the term of former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador.

According to the complaint document, consulted exclusively by Sol Quintana Roo and issued by the Puerto Morelos Public Prosecutor's Agency, investigation file 441/2025 has been opened following the filing of the complaint. The complaint also names various companies that have participated in these illegal acts, as well as state dependencies such as the Secretariat of Sustainable Territorial Urban Development (Sedetus).

These crimes, contemplated in Article 268 of the Quintana Roo Penal Code, are committed by those who: "Authorize, promote, induce, organize, or encourage the formation or construction of irregular human settlements, by themselves or through an intermediary." If found guilty, individuals could face a penalty of up to 10 years in prison.

Modus Operandi of the Blanca Merari Government

This is not a new issue. Sol Quintana Roo had previously reported on the situation directly involving the government of Blanca Merari, whose governed municipality is practically in a state of anarchy.

Among the benefiting companies is the promoter of the Aluxe 33 building, pushed by Extratemex Estrategias Mexicanas de Negocios, Espectáculos y Tecnología, a company founded in Cuernavaca. It has sought to construct a 44-unit apartment building with an investment of 75 million pesos, all despite lacking the proper permits.

In this web of illegality, the name of Rolando Leonel Melo Novelo, Municipal Secretary of Urban Development and Territorial Planning of Puerto Morelos, stands out. He is the official who signs construction licenses and land-use change permits in the aforementioned municipality.

However, according to the Puerto Morelos Construction Regulations, to grant these licenses, the promoter must first have an environmental impact resolution following the submission of an Environmental Impact Statement (MIA) to the Federal Secretariat of Environment and Natural Resources (Semarnat).

Aluxe 33 is the most emblematic case because it is located south of the old town center of the city and near the new Protected Natural Area (ANP) Manglares de Puerto Morelos, decreed at the end of the term of former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador.

In 2022, already with Blanca Merari at the helm of the local government, a clearing of mangrove began in Puerto Morelos, on a plot of land where the construction of the aforementioned building was sought. Immediately, the Federal Attorney for Environmental Protection (Profepa) appeared and shut down the site. Later, the agency requested the promoter to initiate a process for environmental impact permits with Semarnat, which was done.

However, during the time the federal approval was being processed, and even without obtaining it, the construction of the building continued. Finally, in February, Semarnat determined not to grant the environmental impact permit, though the private party disregarded this and continued construction without this requirement, putting the municipality's ecosystem at risk.

It was not until a popular complaint was filed by environmentalists that Profepa intervened again and placed another closure order, which in May halted the continuation of the construction, along with other real estate developments.

Illegalities

According to information request number 04425, the government of Blanca Merari, through Rolando Leonel Melo Novelo, granted the construction license to Extratemex Estrategias Mexicanas de Negocios, Espectáculos y Tecnología (the promoter of Aluxe 33) for a ridiculously low cost of 24,464 pesos.

The murky negotiation was between Melo Novelo and Diego Miguel Gómez Henríquez, the legal representative of this company. Gómez Henríquez has appeared as a candidate for various elected positions in the state of Morelos, where he failed in his attempt to enter public service, after which he came to Quintana Roo to do business.

Article 261 of the municipality's Construction Regulations stipulates that to grant municipal licenses, the applicant must have the required federal approvals. In this context, Melo Novelo would be incurring criminal liability for abuse of authority by overstepping his functions.

If the complaint filed by the environmentalists moves forward, not only would Blanca Merari incur criminal liability, but so would her Directorate of Urban Development.