Controversy grows over the Mayan Train. “Millions are in favor”, Ambassador of Mexico in France

The Mayan Train project runs through five states in the southeast of the country through 1,500 kilometers. It should facilitate the transfer of the nearly 14 million tourists who visit the Rivera Maya each year, and provide employment for 300,000 people. Started in 2020, it should start operating in 2024. It has united hundreds of thousands of inhabitants of the Mexican southeast, archeology specialists, economists, environmentalists, and numerous social organizations that affirm that it is nonsense. Its construction has been peppered with allegations of corruption, and to everyone’s surprise, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador decided last July to declare this controversial project a cause of “national security.”

“There are hundreds of thousands of people who are against it, but there are millions who are in favor. You have to remember that the southern part of Mexico is extremely poor, it never developed, and curiously, because it is an extremely rich area, it appeals to me a lot. attention when I hear tourists who are surprised that a country with so much wealth continues to have so much poverty. The importance of this train is to combine two things: a social project of economic development, because it will also be used to move merchandise, there are many products there that are practically not sold, apart from promoting tourism – and not only on the Riviera Maya side, there are many important areas that could also be known. Of course, it is very important to protect everything that is ecological , it is an area very rich in both fauna and flora. A calculation was made, and little has been said about it, the entire area that is going to be opened is very little; it must be remembered that there was already a railway line and almost is being followed or the same Another protected area was opened towards the Guatemala area, that is, the number of hectares that are going to be opened as protected areas multiplied,” explains the Ambassador of Mexico in France, Blanca Jiménez Cisneros.

The Mayan Train, a matter of national security

The fact of decreeing this project, initially touristic, as a “strategic and national security” issue, prevents it from going through Parliament. The representative of Mexico in France affirms that the train also seeks to control migration.

“Most of the migrants who go to the United States come from the south. In fact, a part of the Mayan Train even goes to some cities in Central America to try to control this part of security. The number of migrants is tremendous, they come from Haiti, from Panama, from El Salvador.[…] They are living in Mexico today and the population is also quite restless,” he says.

The question that arises is whether the construction of the train will not allow illegal migrants to circulate more easily. Blanca Jiménez Cisneros explains that it will increase job opportunities and improve the local economy, in order to fix people in the region.

“I think that a stronger region could also be more resilient, which is why it was also extended to Central America. In fact, another program that is rarely talked about was also extended, called ‘sembrando vida’ (planting trees), and Mexico is already doing it in several Central American countries. This is also a program to root people, and security for us,” he adds.

Something that draws attention in France and the rest of Europe is President López Obrador’s decision not to dedicate a single trip to Europe, considered an important trading partner, even an ally of Mexico. The president had time to go see Donald Trump, but he has not made a single visit to this side of the Atlantic.

“Relations with France are excellent. The president says that he dedicates his time mainly to things in Mexico. I think it is difficult to understand the pace of work that the president has. Every day he begins at 6 in the morning, at 7 he begins his conference Press, he works all day and on weekends he travels. That leaves him very little to distract himself abroad. What he wants now is to consolidate inwards to start consolidating outwards. I don’t know if he is going to go to Europe, He left for the United States and had said he would not leave. He already left,” he says.

“Heritage is not for sale”

Last July Blanca Jiménez Cisneros, Ambassador of Mexico in France declared that in France it is impossible to prevent the sale of pre-Columbian art. French law recognizes the right to private property as part of the rights of man. Therefore, “we must work on an awareness campaign to convince auction houses and potential buyers that they should not trade with the heritage of other peoples.” How effective is that vision? We asked the Escala guest in Paris.

“It is a process in which we have to work hard for a change of mentality, we noticed that this possibility is already beginning to exist. In fact, we have already had voluntary returns of pieces from people who live in France; one person even returned something to us, although he asked us not to give his name, it was a condition. And little by little we are beginning to see this change. It is a paradigm shift, it is like making people no longer buy fur. Before that it looked very good, it was very chic , a symbol of luxury. It is to begin to make people aware of the importance of this type of work for certain civilizations. And I believe that it can be done, just as now washed-out jeans are no longer bought because they pollute the rivers of other countries. One may wonder how it affects a French person that there is a polluted river in another country. In the same way, one begins to understand the relationship with these objects, knowledge, culture and the appreciation of the people, because there is case There are even deities of populations that have a very deep meaning being sold. I think that, in the case of France, which is a very educated population, which likes to travel and which highly recognizes these types of values, it is possible to change. Now, we also have to see who participates in the auctions”, he replies.

The embassies of Colombia, Guatemala, Honduras, Peru and Mexico issued a joint statement in November 2021 denouncing the auction of the pre-Hispanic heritage of those countries in France. In that case, it involved 72 Mexican pieces sold by Christie’s.

“The letter had a great effect. In the first place, the effect of seeing Latin America already united; in fact, more countries have joined this request, such as Panama, the Dominican Republic and Bolivia. Now we are talking about Latin America, but it is a problem that also affects Africa, Asian countries. It is like a clamor to say, as in Mexico, our heritage is not for sale, it is something cultural. Sometimes I say, what would you (French) feel if we auctioned Napoleon’s sword It would be a little different. In many museums in France there is already talk of looting, they talk about the origin of the pieces, and it is a first step to begin to change. The French government has been very consistent in its support, we have a signed agreement and we are working on training to try to see these changes. And I think that the recent case that is taking place with Abudabi, is going to make us review the legislation and the working mechanisms here, in France. In fact, we already know that the Senate ( French) is interested in the c case of Mexico and in the case of Latin America”.

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A program coordinated by Florence Valdes made by Souheil Khedir, Fabien Mugneret and Guillaume Buffet.