A multimillion-dollar sale at a bargain price, express permits, and misuse of public land are the pieces of a case that residents of the Montealbán subdivision describe as a clear example of urban corruption.
According to an investigation, the former director of the Yucatán State Housing Institute (IVEY) and current General Coordinator of Orderly Development and City Management, Carlos Viñas, allegedly sold a piece of IVEY land in December 2020 to the company VIBEM, owned by the Valencia Duarte family, for 5.8 million pesos, an amount considered far below its true value.
The 2,485-square-meter property is located at 326 Calle 41A in the Montealbán subdivision, where a six-story complex with more than 100 apartments is currently being built. Residents report that the construction is being carried out under irregular conditions and with alleged institutional protection, as the authority in charge of supervising urban compliance is Viñas himself, now in his new position within the Mérida government.
According to the testimonies gathered, part of the adjacent land is being used illegally as an access point for machinery, storage of materials, and debris dump. Despite the reports, the inspections have not resulted in sanctions or closures.
“Although we have reported the deforestation and misuse of public land, the authorities simply look the other way,” said one of the dissatisfied residents.
Residents also claim that Viñas and his wife have been seen in the construction area, and that Councilwoman Paulina Sánchez, of the PAN (National Action Party), arrived with environmental personnel supposedly to address the complaints, but ended up promising that she would not close the project if the developers offered to build a park, which the residents consider a form of coercion.
The project, the protesters explain, violates the density and height regulations for the type of area where the building is located. Furthermore, Montealbán’s infrastructure—water, sewage, and road systems—is already collapsed.
Those affected demand that the case be reviewed by state and federal authorities and that the land purchase be investigated for possible damage to public property. This was done while Viñas was still the head of the IVEY (Educational Institute of Higher Education), which could represent a conflict of interest.
The land sold at a low price and the permits issued by the same person who oversees them are, in the eyes of residents, further evidence of how political power and real estate interests are intertwined in Mérida, affecting orderly development.
Source: solyuctan
