Baja California’s state legislature voted to reject the 2024 fiscal accounts of CEMCO, the Metropolitan Convention Center serving Tijuana, Playas de Rosarito, and Tecate, after auditors found multiple financial irregularities in its books.
The Public Spending Oversight Commission issued the non-approval ruling during its seventh regular session on July 1. The commission, chaired by state legislator Alejandra María Ang Hernández, reviewed accounts covering the period from January 1 to December 31, 2024.
Missing Tax Withholdings and Unauthorized Payments
Working in coordination with the ASEBC (Auditoría Superior del Estado de Baja California), the state’s top auditing body, commissioners identified several problems in CEMCO’s finances. The irregularities included missing income tax withholdings, undocumented transfers to non-governmental organizations, and discrepancies between internal accounting records and official public accounts.
Auditors also flagged payments routed through unauthorized personal accounts, a finding that raises questions about how the convention center handled public money during 2024. CEMCO is a publicly funded entity that hosts conventions, trade shows, and large events at its facility on the Carretera Escénica Tijuana-Ensenada in Playas de Rosarito.
Other Agencies Reviewed in Same Session
The commission reviewed accounts from multiple state entities during the same session. Those included the Baja California Human Rights Commission (CEDH), the Centro Social, Cívico y Cultural Riviera de Ensenada, the state planning committee COPLADE (Comité de Planeación para el Desarrollo del Estado), and the Baja California Tourism Promotion Trust.
Municipal-level entities also came under review, including COPLADEM Rosarito, the planning committee for Playas de Rosarito, and IMJUVER, the municipal youth institute. The State Administrative Justice Tribunal (TEJA) and COPLADE both received approval, confirming that the audit failures were not across the board.
What It Means for the Region
CEMCO’s convention center is one of the main event venues in the Tijuana-Rosarito corridor. It regularly hosts trade expos, business conventions, and cultural events that draw attendees from both sides of the border. The facility sits along the scenic highway between Tijuana and Ensenada.
The non-approval ruling does not automatically result in sanctions, but it puts CEMCO’s administration on formal record with the state auditor. The ASEBC’s findings could lead to further administrative proceedings depending on how the entity responds to the observations.
The ruling was first reported by The Baja Post.