Residents Accuse Developer of Land Grabs During Sheinbaum Visit in Playa del Carmen

Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo — A property title delivery event for residents of the Colosio neighborhood turned into a protest Friday as founding residents accused the developer Derimaya of attempting to seize their land, with some lots allegedly already sold to third parties.

During the event at the Poliforum in Playa del Carmen, attended by President Claudia Sheinbaum, protesters unfurled a banner reading: “The rights of possessors are not for sale. Insus is profiting. We request a meeting to rectify the decree.” Federal officials approached the group but did not ask them to remove the banner, arguing it was unnecessary since regularization was already underway.

The residents later spoke with Víctor Dagnino, head of the National Institute of Sustainable Land (Insus), who agreed to review the files of those who have not yet received titles, as well as the presidential decrees that returned the neighborhood to national land status.

Sonia López Cardiel, a board member of the Fundadores de la Colosio A.C., said that while more than 2,000 lots have been regularized, another 2,000 remain unresolved. Many of these, she said, are being claimed by the developer Derimaya, a subsidiary of Sedetus, or have already been sold to third parties.

“The titled lots are the ones without complications or that have no economic interest for Derimaya, which now controls Sedetus,” López Cardiel explained. “But there are 2,800 lots where about 80% of those claiming ownership are not the founders, but politicians, foreigners, or wealthy people.”

She added that many of these individuals bought through Derimaya and have already registered their names in the Public Property Registry, to the detriment of families who have lived on the lots for 32 years. Some residents fear eviction, which was attempted months ago.

The problem partly stems from a second presidential decree issued in 2022, a year after the first one aimed at regularizing Colosio, which left several lots untouched in favor of the state-owned company.

Dagnino committed to reviewing each case file, according to residents.