Development: On 5 November Mexico’s President-elect Andrés Manuel López Obrador announced that a national consultation over the proposed construction of a new train line, known as ‘Tren Maya’, will take place between December and January.
Significance: The Tren Maya is a massive railway project that consists of two lines connecting five states in southeast Mexico. López Obrador hopes that the project will be running within four years following a mixed public-private investment of M$120-M$150bn (US$6-US$7.5bn), boosting tourism by connecting key Mayan archaeological sites located in the Yucatán Peninsula and the Tehuantepec Isthmus areas, and encouraging economic growth in cities along the route.
- López Obrador claims that the consultation will be easy to organise even at short notice and has promised to respect the result even though it will not be legally binding. Upon taking office on 1 December, López Obrador has announced that he will work to make public consultations binding by modifying Article 35 of the constitution, but this could take some time.
- Some have criticised the potential environmental impact of the Tren Maya in a region home to a unique hydrological system of underground rivers, and there are worries that improved transport access could encourage the extraction of natural resources. However, López Obrador has promised that a massive reforestation programme to be launched along the railway route will mean that the project will not damage the local ecosystem.
- López Obrador plans to pay for the Tren Maya by using funds from a duty paid by foreign airline passengers, which is currently used by a government agency called the Consejo de Promoción Turística de México (CPTM) to promote tourism. But business leaders worry that tourist numbers will fall if the funds are re-routed, given the influence of advertising campaigns in overcoming negative perceptions of Mexico caused by ongoing public security issues.
- The Tren Maya consultation follows on from the controversial decision to cancel construction of the Nuevo Aeropuerto Internacional de México (NAIM) international airport project after a similar consultation. Some have criticised López Obrador’s use of these public votes as a ploy to lend a sheen of public approval to decisions that have already been taken.
Looking Ahead: López Obrador is due to meet with governors from the states through which the Tren Maya is expected to pass (Tabasco, Chiapas, Campeche, Yucatán, and Quintana Roo) next week to discuss the plans for the new railway. In the long-term, it remains to be seen whether López Obrador can improve the legitimacy of public consultations for huge infrastructure projects with far-reaching impact.
