This research focuses on the state of Yucatan, Mexico, and provides evidence of unsustainable performance of the local economy: the local economic structure and income distribu- The objectives of sustainable development (OSD) include a set of actions that are implemented in an articulated way leading to the overcoming of poverty, reduction of inequality, creation of quality employment opportunities and conservation of natural resources, among other purposes (UNDP, 2016). The challenge for governments of subnational countries and regions is to determine how to implement this set of actions to generate continuous development processes in a complex and dynamic context in the geographical space of a particular territory. In the interaction economy-society-environment, there can be virtuous circles that lead to economic prosperity,This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License, which permits use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non-commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made.