Mexico City, Mexico
Thomson Reuters Foundation
Mexico’s national human rights commission on Thursday demanded the government halt construction of the Mayan Train railroad, saying non-essential work on the ambitious tourism project risked coronavirus exposure by vulnerable Indigenous groups.
The government department overseeing the project said in response that it was taking necessary safety measures in building the 1,470 kilometre railway project to link tourist locations on the Yucatan Peninsula along the Atlantic coast.
Members of Mexico’s Zapatista National Liberation Army (EZLN) march at a protest against the construction of the Mayan train and the Santa Lucia airport projects promoted by Mexico’s government in Mexico City, Mexico, on 21st February. PICTURE: Reuters/ Edgard Garrido/File photo.
Indigenous groups have said they were not properly consulted on the project and fear the ongoing work could endanger local communities. Academics and activists voiced similar complaints in an open letter to the government last month.
Mexico’s confirmed coronavirus cases have surpassed 45,000, and more than 5,100 people have died, although numbers are likely to be much higher due to limited testing.
First announced in 2018, the train is an endeavor by President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador to boost local economies by connecting isolated regions less developed than the industrialised north.
Environmentalists and Indigenous groups have said the potentially negative ecological repercussions of the development outweighed the economic benefits.
The National Human Rights Commission called on the government to urgently suspend non-essential activities related to the project, given the “possible health, personal safety and life damages to inhabitants in the region”.
It did not specify which parts of the project it considered essential.
In response, the head of the National Fund for Tourism Promotion (Fonatur), Rogelio Jimenez said: “We are being respectful and careful of safety protocols.
“We will heed this call and respectfully explain to the Commission our position and willingness to help communities regarding their health,” he said, adding that Fonatur would give a full response later.
Despite an increasing number of coronavirus cases, the government last Wednesday announced plans to reopen the economy, with automotive factories, mining and construction to start up again soon.
Lopez Obrador has deemed the Mayan Train essential infrastructure, hoping it will be a major generator of jobs in the country’s poorer south.
