In an extraordinary session, the Playa del Carmen City Council authorized Mayor Estefanía Mercado to contract one or more short-term loans for up to 150 million pesos to address immediate liquidity problems, partly due to the drop in revenue resulting from the negative impacts of sargassum seaweed.
The short-term contract obligates the municipal government to pay off the debt before the current administration ends, so approval from the local Congress was not required, as it will not affect future administrations.
During the City Council session, Councilor José Luis Toledo stated that he was aware of the municipality’s financial situation but requested the appearance of several directors to provide a detailed explanation of the income, expenses, and repayment mechanism for the new debt.
In this regard, he requested the appearance of the treasurer to explain the reasons for and the repayment plan; and the director of revenue to report on tax collection levels. The meeting included the Director of Inspections, the Director of Street Vending, the Secretary of Urban Development, the Director of Civil Protection, the Secretary of Citizen Security and Transit, and the Director of ZOFEMAT (Federal Maritime Land Zone).
For his part, PAN (National Action Party) councilman Juan Novelo also spoke about the need for the treasurer to provide a detailed account of the municipal finances and how the upcoming loan will be repaid.
In this context, the municipal treasurer, Guillermo Brahms González, reported a few days ago that tax revenue had fallen between 30 and 40 percent, making it urgent to restore it to meet year-end obligations.
Last year, the administration took out another short-term loan for 125 million pesos, and last month the mayor announced she would request an advance of 50 million pesos from state revenue sharing funds, in addition to the public debt inherited from previous administrations.
Source: jornada
