Reuters. – This Thursday, a group of environmental organizations filed a petition under the Treaty between Mexico, the United States and Canada (T-MEC) regarding the environmental impact of the construction of the Maya Train, one of the major projects of the administration of President Andrés. Manuel Lopez Workshop.
The request by the Commission on Environmental Cooperation (CCA), which is linked to the regional business charter, ensures that Mexican authorities have made omissions when implementing environmental legislation in the multi-million dollar work.
“The petitioners allege that the project did not undergo appropriate environmental impact assessment procedures, as required,” the CEC said in a statement.
Environmentalists also claim that the soil and geophysical studies carried out for the Maya to date are insufficient, threatening the safety of the work, as well as the lack of consideration for endangered species in the area, which includes a large forest area.
Also read: “Here I am, why all this hate?”: Mayan Train Protection promoters respond to AMLO
Since its announcement, the Mayan train project, which will cut about 1,500 kilometers from the Palenque Archaeological Area to Cancun, has faced opposition from indigenous and environmental groups, who claim it will lead to the destruction of nature and its indigenous peoples.
This week, Lopez Obrador asserted that the Mayan train’s work is a matter of “national security” to help reveal the progress of its construction in the face of several pending legal protections.
She said in a statement that the CEC has 30 days to review the petition and determine whether it meets the requirements to take action under United States law.
