It’s not every day that municipal mayors gather under one roof to talk about philosophy. But in Quintana Roo, politics often comes with its own lexicon, one that hints at deeper shifts unfolding across Mexico.
This week, Tulum’s municipal president, Diego Castañón Trejo, joined a select group of local leaders at the “Taller para Autoridades Municipales: Gobernar desde el Segundo Piso de la 4T.” The workshop, organized by Morena Quintana Roo, aimed to sharpen governing skills while grounding municipal leadership in social justice, proximity to the people, and a more humane style of administration.
It might sound lofty, but the conversations happening in these rooms matter.
A workshop with roots in transformation
Held in the heart of Quintana Roo, the event convened mayors, Morena party officials, and key government figures for a full day of reflection on the so-called “Second Floor” of the Cuarta Transformación, Mexico’s ongoing political project aimed at reforming institutions and expanding social equity.
For those unfamiliar with the metaphor, the “first floor” of the 4T (Fourth Transformation) laid the foundation: sweeping anti-corruption measures, direct aid programs, and structural reforms launched under President Andrés Manuel López Obrador. The “second floor” now focuses on deepening those changes, making them durable, and embedding them into everyday governance.
Castañón Trejo, who has steered Tulum through a period of rapid change, stood at the microphone and offered more than just a political speech. “These spaces of reflection,” he said, “allow us to keep building more just governments, sensitive to the needs of the people.”
It wasn’t a quote for the cameras. It felt more like a note passed among peers.
Governing close to the ground in Tulum
Tulum, with its booming tourism and rapid urban growth, is often seen as a postcard of paradise. But behind the surf and sun, municipal leaders face tangled realities: housing shortages, environmental pressures, and growing demands for inclusive development.
That’s what made Castañón Trejo’s presence notable. Rather than overseeing a photo op, he leaned into policy, speaking of service, listening, and transformation as the core of his administration’s goals.
He also took time to credit those around him. He thanked Morena Quintana Roo for organizing the workshop and praised the leadership of Governor Mara Lezama, whose vision, he said, “reminds us that governing is about serving, listening, and changing lives.”
It’s a sentiment often spoken, but not always felt. In this case, there’s evidence of follow-through.
Earlier this year, for example, Castañón’s office launched a local initiative to simplify access to housing permits for working families. One resident, María López, who had waited months for paperwork approval, shared how a streamlined process finally allowed her to build a permanent home on her family’s land near Chemuyil. “For the first time, I felt like the government was actually on our side,” she said.
The second floor and the weight of continuity
The idea of the “Second Floor” isn’t just metaphorical. It carries weight, especially in places like Tulum where residents expect more than slogans.
The challenge now, say some insiders, is converting these discussions into policy that lasts beyond political cycles. Critics argue that while the Fourth Transformation has brought visibility to social needs, the machinery to address them remains slow, uneven, or overly centralized.
Still, there’s a growing sense that local governments, especially in tourist-heavy zones like the Riviera Maya, could lead a more community-based model of governance, one that mirrors the bottom-up spirit of the 4T.
And that’s where workshops like this come into play. They function as ideological tune-ups, yes, but also as informal accountability sessions.
According to sources within Morena Quintana Roo, upcoming gatherings may dive deeper into environmental justice, digital inclusion, and infrastructure transparency, three issues that resonate strongly in Tulum’s fast-changing landscape.
Tulum’s stake in the future of governance
When a place grows as quickly as Tulum, governance becomes more than just meetings and paperwork. It becomes a matter of balancing vision with urgency.
The “Second Floor” project offers a framework for that balance. And for leaders like Diego Castañón Trejo, it’s also a call to embed empathy into the scaffolding of development.
As the Riviera Maya continues to attract investment and migration, municipalities will need more than budgets and slogans, they’ll need philosophy, empathy, and rigor.
Whether this workshop marks a turning point or a symbolic gesture remains to be seen. But the questions raised are worth asking. How do you build a government that listens? How do you govern in a way that doesn’t just serve tourists, but protects and uplifts locals?
The Tulum Times will continue to follow how these answers unfold, not just from podiums, but from neighborhoods, too.
We’d love to hear your thoughts. Join the conversation on The Tulum Times’ social media.
What does the “Second Floor” of governance mean to you, and should local leaders be doing more to build it from the ground up?