State Auditor Demands Former Playa del Carmen Mayor Repay Over 80 Million Pesos

Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo — The state auditor has ordered former Playa del Carmen mayor Lily Campos Miranda to clarify and repay more than 80 million pesos to public coffers after detecting irregularities during her 2021-2024 administration.

The Quintana Roo State Superior Audit Office (Aseqroo) confirmed that legal deadlines to resolve these inconsistencies have expired, initiating fund recovery procedures. Authorities are preparing criminal complaints with the Quintana Roo State Prosecutor’s Office and administrative proceedings before the Administrative Justice Tribunal, where Campos could face disqualification from public office.

During her term, auditors accumulated findings totaling over 140 million pesos. While some amounts have been resolved, more than 80 million pesos remain outstanding.

Broader Municipal Irregularities

These actions form part of the Third Delivery of Individual Reports from the 2024 Public Account of the Federal Superior Audit Office (ASF), which also reported irregularities totaling 428 million pesos in six Quintana Roo municipalities. The issues primarily involve deficiencies in public works, acquisitions, and leases funded with Federal Participations, Fortamun, and FAISM programs.

The municipality with the most anomalies was Lázaro Cárdenas with 293.9 million pesos, followed by José María Morelos with 39.6 million, Othón P. Blanco with 35.1 million, Felipe Carrillo Puerto with 27.8 million, Cozumel with 25.3 million, and Isla Mujeres with 6.3 million.

Municipalities including Benito Juárez, Bacalar, Puerto Morelos, and Tulum showed no federal audit observations, nor did the state government.

Citizen and Expert Reactions

The citizen group Transparencia por Quintana Roo stated that repeated irregularities reflect structural weaknesses in municipal management and demanded public follow-up on complaints. “It’s not enough to point out amounts; exemplary sanctions must be applied and effective recovery of money guaranteed,” said spokesperson Luis Enríquez.

Fiscal policy specialist Antonio Muciño, an economics professor at Universidad del Sur, said this pattern of findings reveals failures in internal control and administrative professionalism. “When a municipality cannot verify 100% of the audited sample, it indicates a complete breakdown in the accountability chain,” he explained. The anomalies could lead to compensatory and criminal liabilities.