Quintana Roo Leads Mexico in Red Tape and Corruption, Survey Finds

Cancún, Quintana Roo — Quintana Roo ranked as the worst state in Mexico for government red tape and corruption, according to a national Coparmex survey of business owners released this week.

The survey, conducted by Coparmex’s data unit, collected responses from more than 4,000 business owners across all 32 states between March 31 and June 11, 2026. It measured three indicators: regulatory conditions, evaluations of state governments, and corruption.

In the regulatory conditions indicator, 67.6% of Coparmex members in Quintana Roo — nearly seven out of ten — reported problems completing government procedures in the past year, the highest rate in the country.

Ángel Gracia Lazcurain, Coparmex’s vice president for economic development, said the difficulty of dealing with government paperwork is a constant for businesses. Nationally, 46.9% of member companies reported having trouble with government procedures, a drop of two percentage points from the previous year, yet still meaning nearly half of businesses face obstacles. He said the most severe problems were in Quintana Roo, Guerrero and Yucatán, and that the issues were concentrated mainly at the municipal level.

Quintana Roo also topped the “Mexico without corruption” indicator, with at least 50% of business owners in the state saying they experienced some act of corruption in the past year. The state was also in the top ten for the “More Safety” indicator, which measures the percentage of Coparmex members who were crime victims; just over half in Quintana Roo reported being victimized.

Ximena Céspedes, Coparmex’s vice president for democratic development, lobbying and institutional relations, said the corruption perception index fell 8% — the first time it has declined — but added that “that does not mean we are fine.” Corruption is perceived most at the municipal level, followed by state and federal authorities, with 19% of business owners saying they see it across all three levels of government.

The survey also highlighted security conditions. Half of businesses reported experiencing some type of crime. Extortion and protection racket payments known as “cobro de piso” have become the most common crime, rising 18%, and now outpace theft of goods in transit, which stood at 17.9%. Extortion has become a direct threat to business productivity and is eroding trust between the private sector and authorities, with much of the extortion taking place within government itself, the survey found.