Federal Lawmakers Demand Sheinbaum Intervene as Tulum Tourism Crisis Deepens With Extortion Claims

Opposition deputies in Mexico's federal Chamber called this week for President Claudia Sheinbaum and Security Secretary Omar García Harfuch to step into the Tulum tourism crisis, which they tie to insecurity and extortion across the destination.

The demand matters now because the numbers behind it are no longer abstract. Tulum is losing visitors, its airport is moving fewer passengers, and its most famous attraction is drawing smaller crowds, all while a citizen movement and federal legislators push the municipal government for answers in the same week.

PAN bench invokes the Tequila precedent

Federico Döring, spokesman for the National Action Party (PAN) bench, framed Tulum as evidence of what he called narco-politics damaging Mexico. According to Döring, a place once known as a tourist paradise has become a risk for residents and visitors alike.

Döring went further, saying that versions circulating in the press and journalistic investigations have pointed to Tulum's mayor, Diego Castañón of Morena, as one of the figures who operate extortion in the destination. Those are accusations attributed to the deputy and to unspecified reports, not established facts. No formal charges against Castañón have been made public, and he is entitled to the presumption of innocence.

The PAN spokesman drew a direct comparison to Tequila, Jalisco, and its mayor, Diego Rivera, who is currently in custody. Rivera has been accused of organized crime, extortion, and alleged ties to the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, charges he has not been convicted of. Döring urged the federal government to act before the situation in Tulum escalates, rather than waiting, as he argued happened in the Tequila case.

What the figures behind the Tulum tourism crisis show

The legislators built their case on recent data. Reforma reported this week that insecurity and extortion have driven a four percent drop in visitors, a 31 percent fall in airport passenger traffic, and a 28 percent decline in arrivals to the archaeological zone.

Quintana Roo's Tourism Information System recorded the slide in raw terms. Between January and April of this year, Tulum received 522,705 visitors, which is 21,718 fewer than in the same months of 2025. The decline lands on a destination that spent years as one of the fastest-growing luxury markets in the Mexican Caribbean.

Sánchez floats a federal Plan Tulum

Quintana Roo deputy Ernesto Sánchez proposed a coordinated response he called a Plan Tulum, agreed among business owners, workers, and communities in tourist areas, with all three levels of government involved in social policy, urban development, and security.

His package of proposals includes a federal investment fund to revive businesses, a master security plan to protect tourist points, public spaces, and main roads, and a government subsidy to help travelers reach Tulum's beaches. Sánchez attributed the visitor decline to real estate disorder linked to what he described as irregular business dealings in Quintana Roo, alongside neglect of poverty, extortion payments, intentional homicides, and daylight killings.

He also pointed to layered pressures on the local economy. Beyond protection payments demanded from companies, Sánchez said criminals charge fees to bars, hotels, and restaurants, a problem compounded by the conflict between app-based transport providers and taxi drivers at airports, and by sargassum, which he said has caused millions in losses for the hotel sector.

Tulum Unido takes licensing complaints to city hall

The legislative pressure coincided with a separate move by residents and business owners. A group calling itself Tulum Unido, which describes itself as a citizen movement of nearly 300 people, submitted a document to the municipal government denouncing administrative obstacles and alleged irregularities in the issuance of operating licenses.

The collective links its formation to what it calls the crisis facing the municipality. Its members say Tulum's economic growth has come with frustration over the cost of paperwork, response times, and a lack of legal certainty, along with public complaints tied to alleged corruption, extortion, and abuse of authority. The group says its citizen brief contains concrete proposals to make the licensing process fair, transparent, and lawful, and that it will be delivered to the municipal president.

Tulum Unido also opened a signature campaign, telling residents that a larger turnout means a louder voice. It scheduled a signature drive for Wednesday, July 1, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Cancha Maya in Tulum, and invited the public to review the full document through a link and a QR code.

The municipal response and what comes after July 1

Castañón has previously characterized the downturn differently. In earlier public remarks, the mayor described the slump as a lower-than-usual low season, predicted a recovery toward the end of the year, and argued that the destination's problems had been politicized and amplified by a campaign against the municipality.

Two threads now run in parallel. The citizen brief reaches city hall after the July 1 signature drive, while the PAN bench keeps its appeal directed at the federal government. Whether García Harfuch or the Presidency responds, and on what terms, remains the open question for a destination watching its core numbers fall.

Do you think federal intervention would help Tulum's tourism recovery, or should the response stay local? Join the conversation and share your perspective with us on Instagram and Facebook at @thetulumtimes.