Tlajomulco’s nickname “Mexican Chernobyl” went viral in 2022 after popular Mexican influencer Yulay (2.7 million Instagram followers) explored the abandoned Lomas del Mirador development on TikTok. His video amassed millions of views, and the term — referring not to radiation but to the eerie vastness of unfinished and empty housing — quickly became a social media phenomenon.
In truth, local residents had long used the comparison to highlight years of neglect, crime and urban decay. And by the time British tabloids picked up the story in 2024-2025, the moniker was already firmly entrenched in popular discourse.
Hope for the future
Hopeful signs are on the horizon, however. One of Tlajomulco’s “ghost” developments is being reborn as a community with a promising future.
On Thursday of last week, municipal and state authorities inaugurated the first phase of a “comprehensive housing recovery plan” in the Lomas del Mirador development — now renamed Arbolada del Mirador — delivering more than 800 rehabilitated homes to new families.
In a ceremony on March 19, Tlajomulco Mayor Gerardo Quirino and Jalisco Governor Pablo Lemus handed over keys to units acquired by the first families that will inhabit the transformed development.
“What was once a source of ridicule is now the new home for many families,” Quirino Velázquez said at the inauguration.
Prices of the homes will not exceed one million pesos (approximately US$50,000). Ana Isabel Macías, who received the keys to her new home last week, told reporters that the unit cost her approximately 700,000 pesos (about US$35,000), with monthly payments of less than 2,500 pesos.
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