Judge suspends construction of a controversial section of the Mayan Train in Mexico

A federal judge provisionally suspended the construction of a section of the Mayan tourist train, a flagship project of the government of Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador in southeastern Mexico, noting that there are no environmental impact studies.

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The suspension includes a section between the resorts of Playa del Carmen and Tulum, frequented by international tourists.

“That the execution of works related to its construction, infrastructure, removal or destruction of the biodiversity of the land is not allowed,” says the resolution of the court based in the state of Yucatan (southeast).

The document adds that there are no “environmental impact studies” for that section of the work, “in addition to the fact that the existence of that environmental assessment is not noted on the official page of said project.”

The suspension is temporary while a definitive resolution is given on the protection presented by a group of divers in the area.

The section in question is involved in controversy. Originally it would go through an overpass that was built on the highway between Playa del Carmen and Tulum, in the state of Quintana Roo. However, the route was modified to pass at ground level through a jungle area.

The modification generated protests from environmental groups who claimed that the line will now pass over underground rivers and cenotes, freshwater ponds that exist in many places in the area.

In response, President López Obrador criticized environmental groups opposed to the work.

“There are already more and more environmentalists who did not exist, who were not present, they are arriving,” the president said this Tuesday at his usual morning press conference.

“We are going to wait to see what they are claiming now and find a way to defend ourselves legally,” he added.

The mayan train It is one of the three flagship works of the López Obrador government, along with the recently opened Felipe Ángeles airport and a refinery in Tabasco (south).

The train will travel 1,554 km through four states of Mexico to connect majestic archaeological sites, exuberant jungles and paradisiacal beaches of the Mexican Caribbean.

However, the work has previously faced opposition from environmental and indigenous groups, who have filed various injunctions.

Lopez Obrador has said that it is expected that the Train Maya start operations at the end of 2023.

Source: Elcomercio

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