The government of Yucatán is facing heavy criticism over a massive, non-public expansion of its state budget, with investigators alleging that the current administration has exercised more than 7 billion pesos in additional funds beyond what was originally approved by the State Congress in just 18 months.
According to data from the first half of 2026, the government obtained a budget expansion of 2.1 billion pesos—an increase that was not disclosed to the public. By the third quarter, the inclusion of a Congressional loan is expected to push the total additional spending to exceed 3.6 billion pesos. When combined with the 5 billion peso expansion seen during the first year of the current administration (2025), the total "hidden" expenditure reaches a staggering 7 billion pesos.
The lack of transparency has become a central point of contention. Critics argue that these modifications were not reported publicly and can only be discovered by navigating through a "sea of files" to find the analytical exercise of the budget.
While the current administration campaigned on a platform of "honesty and transparency," the investigation highlights a pattern of corruption and significant overcosts in public works. Notable examples include:
- Animal Welfare Center: A facility in Juan Pablo II recently opened with a reported cost of 11 million pesos, despite official claims from the Secretary of Health that only 800,000 pesos were spent on rehabilitation and equipment.
- Infrastructure Overcosts: The construction of 5.8 kilometers of the Sahcabá-Huhí highway is reportedly costing at least 3.8 million pesos per kilometer—a 22% increase compared to the first section of the road, which cost 3.1 million pesos per kilometer.
- Road Patching Scandal: The civil society group "Ya Basta" reported last year that the state’s road patching program, managed through the Incay and the Secretariat of Infrastructure, suffered from overcosts exceeding 100%.
The reports suggest that the government is not only mismanaging public resources but is actively "wasting" them, contradicting the promises made by the "Fourth Transformation" (4T) movement. As the state moves toward 2027, these findings point to a systemic issue of public fund mismanagement and a lack of accountability in the distribution of the state’s 129 billion pesos in officially approved funds.