Quintana Roo Electoral Body Orders Councilwoman To Pull Videos Criticizing Mayor

Chetumal, Quintana Roo — Quintana Roo’s electoral institute has ordered a city councilwoman to take down social media videos in which she accuses the governing party of fraud in the 2024 municipal election, a ruling she says she will fight.

The Electoral Institute of Quintana Roo (IEQROO) determined that Lidia Rojas Fabro, a councilwoman for the Citizens’ Movement (Movimiento Ciudadano) party in Othón P. Blanco, must remove the videos from her accounts. Rojas Fabro confirmed she had already deleted the posts and said she will appeal the decision to the Electoral Tribunal of Quintana Roo (Teqroo) as a first step.

In one of the videos, which ends with Citizens’ Movement branding, the councilwoman says:

“Remember this video? Two years ago they stole the election from the people of Chetumal. They committed fraud and they are a fraud. Now it turns out the system wants to censor us, but nothing happens. You, me and all of Chetumal know what they really did, and that is why our city is the way it is. We will not back down, they will not silence me, and they cannot censor the truth. In Chetumal we are the capital, and the capital defends itself.”

Rojas Fabro ran for municipal president of Othón P. Blanco for Citizens’ Movement in 2024 and won the vote in the city of Chetumal. After a recount of ballots that arrived late from rural areas, however, the IEQROO declared Yensunni Martínez Hernández of Morena the winner, settling the race by less than one percentage point.

The removal order stems from a precautionary measure issued by the IEQROO’s Complaints and Denunciations Commission, which concluded that the videos, read together and in context, amounted to premature electoral positioning by the councilwoman for the municipal presidency of Othón P. Blanco.

Institute Flags Four Elements in the Videos

In its review of the messages, the commission raised the following objections:

• Discrediting the current administration. The institute pointed to statements by Rojas Fabro and Citizens’ Movement national leader Jorge Álvarez Máynez — among them “In eight years the government has not given us our place,” “They stole the election,” “They committed fraud,” “With all the power they hold, they have not been able to solve the capital’s problems” and “They are a fraud.” The commission said the comments build a message of rejection toward those currently in power, rather than staying within the criticism opposition political figures may legitimately direct at authorities.
• Systematic exposure of public problems. The videos cite flooding, potholes, street lighting, insecurity and the neglect of the capital. The IEQROO said these were not isolated references but a consistent narrative intended to demonstrate government failure.
• Personalized presentation of the alternative. Máynez introduces Rojas Fabro by name — “Hello Chetumal, I’m Máynez, Jorge Máynez, and this is Lidia Rojas Fabro” — after which she delivers the main criticisms.
• Express partisan association. The institute objected that Rojas Fabro does not appear solely as a councilwoman but is linked to Citizens’ Movement — “I’m Lidia Rojas Fabro and in Movimiento Ciudadano we are going to defend our municipality” — and that the video closes with the party’s logo.
• A proposal for change. The commission also cited closing lines such as “Chetumal deserves much more,” “our capital deserves a better government,” “we have everything it takes to be a great capital. What is missing is a government that measures up” and “it is time to give it back the place it deserves.”

According to the IEQROO, the message conveyed by the videos from Rojas Fabro and Álvarez Máynez is: “The current government has failed. It has defrauded the public. Chetumal needs a change. Lidia Rojas and Movimiento Ciudadano represent that change.”

The institute closed its ruling by reconstructing the meaning of the message, concluding that it amounts functionally to saying “The current government is no good, we do represent the solution,” or, put another way, “if you want to solve Chetumal’s problems, the alternative is Lidia Rojas and Movimiento Ciudadano.”

The IEQROO’s conclusion, after parsing what it said Rojas Fabro meant, was that “although those words are not spoken literally, they constitute the electoral meaning reasonably perceived by the public” — which is why it censored the videos.