Why Va y Ven Buses and License Plates Are Turning MaroonWhether you're driving or taking the bus, you're taking the ruling party's branding with you.
Public buses in Yucatán are changing from blue to maroon as the current government replaces visual symbols of the previous administration. This practice also extends to license plates, and who knows what else.
Va y Ven buses launched in November 2021 under the National Action Party (PAN) government. The buses were painted in the party’s blue color. Now, under the National Regeneration Movement (Morena) administration of Gov. Joaquín Díaz Mena, the new, articulated buses display the party’s maroon color, perceived locally as guinda, or cherry-colored.
Chatter over the change began in October 2024 when a Facebook photo showed what looked like a Va y Ven bus painted maroon, and with a new logo. The Yucatán Transportation Agency said existing blue buses would stay the same color. But they confirmed new buses would carry “the flagship color of the Mayan Renaissance government.”
It’s not so odd. In Mexico, governments commonly change logos and colors of stationery, official vehicles and buildings when a different party takes power.
License Plate Program Draws Opposition
But one branding change drew more criticism for hitting drivers in the pocketbook. Yucatán announced a license plate replacement program for 2025, requiring all vehicle owners to obtain new plates at 1,765 pesos (US$85-$100) per vehicle.
The new plates are also designed in the Morena color scheme.
U.S. states charge anywhere between $27 and $62 for annual vehicle registration, while Mexican states require license plate replacement every three years at higher costs.
The program affects over 1.1 million vehicles and could generate 700 million pesos ($35-40 million) in revenue. Opposition politicians criticized the program’s timing and scope.
“This is a scheme to raise money disguised as strategy,” said Roger Torres Peniche, PAN caucus coordinator in the state legislature.
Morena, founded in 2014 by former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, won the 2018 presidential election with 53% of votes. The party controls the presidency and most state governments, including Yucatán.
Opposition legislators point out the irony: Morena deputies once “fought to reduce the cost of license plate replacement to benefit Yucatecan families” when the party was in opposition in 2021.
The Va y Ven system serves 400,000 daily passengers across 740 buses statewide.
The Va y Ven system faces a 1.86 billion peso deficit. Transportation officials describe the system as “financially unviable.”
Charlie Lopez, a daily user with motor disabilities, said the political fights miss the point. “I don’t accept the attack of a public policy whose benefit I’ve seen and lived just because it wasn’t promoted by those who govern today,” he told local media.
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