Tulum Mayor Cuts Public Works Budget by Half to Pay Banorte Debt

Tulum, Quintana Roo — Mayor Diego Castañón has slashed the municipality’s public works budget for 2026 by nearly half, redirecting funds to repay a 50 million peso short-term loan from Banorte, according to a budget modification approved by the city council in March.

The first amendment to Tulum’s 2026 Expenditure Budget, published in the state official gazette on March 31, reveals that the mayor cut 106.3 million pesos from public investment — a 46% reduction from the originally approved 229.7 million pesos. The revised public works budget now stands at 123.5 million pesos, down from 161.3 million pesos spent in 2025.

The primary reason for the cut is the inclusion of debt service payments that were deliberately omitted when the original budget was approved on December 10, 2025 — just five days before the loan agreement with Banorte was signed on December 15. The modified budget allocates 53.4 million pesos for debt repayment in 2026, including 50 million pesos in principal and 3.35 million pesos in interest. An additional 168,165 pesos in commissions were paid when the loan was taken out, bringing the total cost of borrowing to 3.52 million pesos.

According to the budget document, the short-term credit was contracted to cover temporary liquidity shortfalls. However, the mayor’s office did not provide further justification for the loan.

Beyond the debt payment, the budget amendment also reallocated 46.7 million pesos from public works to general services under a category labeled “budget adjustment of own resources,” with no explanation provided in the amendment’s rationale. This reallocation came on top of cuts in federal transfers, including a 6.4 million peso reduction in the Municipal Social Infrastructure Fund (FAISMUN) and a 68,883 peso cut in the Municipal Fortification Fund (Fortamun).

The budget modification was not approved by the municipal trustee, Rifka Renne Queruel Nussbaum, who was absent from the council session where the amendment was passed.

Residents of Tulum are beginning to feel the impact of the reduced public works budget, which critics say reflects poor financial management by the Castañón administration.