Mérida Mayor Cecilia Patrón Laviada lamented the decision of the Supreme Court of Justice to not recognize municipal autonomy and prevent the increase in property taxes in 2025 and even 2026.
“The Mérida City Council appealed to the Supreme Court of Justice because we feel our municipal autonomy has been violated. We will always defend municipal autonomy; it is enshrined in the Constitution, and the way it is being handled, saying we wanted to collect more (in property taxes) is false; we were only seeking to defend the autonomy of the municipalities,” she explained.
She stated that the people of Mérida trust the municipal administration by paying their property taxes. “We have increased revenue collection, which speaks to the trust of the people of Mérida, and it is something we are grateful for. It also speaks to the good management that is being done (with public resources), something that is being seen in the more repaved streets, public lighting, parks, city cleanliness, support for people with disabilities, among other things,” she indicated.
He announced that no increases are expected in any municipal taxes next year, including property taxes.
Last Tuesday, the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation (SCJN) invalidated the Constitutional Controversy, filed under file 11/2025, filed by the Mérida City Council, which sought to invalidate the amendment to Article 46 of the Municipal Treasury Law related to property taxes.
Thus, the Plenary confirmed the decision of the Yucatán Congress to ensure that the cost of the property tax would be reasonable and would not disproportionately affect the residents of Mérida.
In this regard, it upheld Article 46 of the Municipal Treasury Law, which contains the tables of unit values for land and buildings.
With seven votes in favor and two against from the new ministers, the validity of the aforementioned reform of Decree 29/2024, published in the Official Gazette of Yucatán on December 30, 2024, was confirmed. This reform relates to the collection of resources through this tax for this year.
This resolution confirms the modification to the Municipal Finance Law made by Morena representatives and their allied parties to avoid increases in property values and, thus, prevent an increase in property tax payments.
In the draft ruling by Minister Yasmín Esquivel Mossa, it is stated that the Yucatecan Congress “justified its departure from the municipal proposal based on objective and reasonable public policy reasons, supported by criteria of tax equity, austerity, and financial viability.”
When Congress amended the Municipal Finance Law, which had previously been approved by the City Council, Mayor Cecilia Patrón Laviada declared that Morena representatives had decided to turn their backs on Mérida with a political and partisan decision. At the time, she argued that it was a “punishment law,” cutting resources for citizens.
She also pointed out that municipal finances would suffer a 100 million peso reduction in property tax collection following the local Congress’s decision to amend the Finance Law.
Source: jornada
