Although Vales was associated with Molina in various industries, oftentimes in rivalry against Escalante and Cámara, there were also a few businesses in which he collaborated with his brother in law, even competing against Molina. One example, was the minority interest which Vales held in Compañía Agrícola del Cuyo y Anexas, S.A. The company employed more than 1,500 employees and controlled a 2,627 km2 large estate (roughly the size of Rhode Island) in the northwestern part of Yucatán. These lands were:"rich in dyewood, optimal for growing sugarcane, vanilla, tobacco, maize and cereals, as well as suitable for harvesting sea salt […] Among the productive activities of the plantation we can highlight the exploitation of forest resources (dyes, fine wood for cabinet making and hard wood for construction), as well as the extraction of resins (chewing gum), the obtaining of sea salt, the cultivation of sugar cane, the development of crops of tobacco, cocoa, cotton, banana and vanilla, the latter brought from Papantla, Veracruz. Likewise, for the self-consumption of its inhabitants, corn, rice, beans and all other natural products available on the aforementioned farm were produced on the land […] The dyewood that the Company exported was in demand in the European markets of the textile manufactory of Hamburg, Le Havre and Liverpool. As for chewing gum, it was sent out to New York, carrying out the commercialization of an average of 400 thousand kg per year.” The company competed with Compañía Colonizadora de la Costa Oriental de Yucatán, S.A. which was headed by Molina and held neighbouring lands.
