( Spanish) — The Government of Mexico expropriated three railway sections from Ferrosur, owned by Grupo México Transportes, according to a decree published this Friday in the Official Gazette of the Federation.
The document detailed that the occupation in favor of the state company Ferrocarril del Istmo de Tehuantepec is in its capacity as a member of the multimodal logistics platform in charge of the Interoceanic Corridor of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec.
Grupo México Transportes, owned by businessman Germán Larrea Mota-Velasco, indicated through a statement that since 6:00 AM (local) on Friday, “armed personnel from the Secretary of the Navy occupied the facilities” in the section Coatzacoalcos- Socks.
“The surprising and unusual takeover of the facilities by the Armed Forces is being analyzed by Grupo México Transportes, its investors and advisors,” he added.
The Interoceanic corridor links the Pacific —where the port of Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz is located— with the Atlantic through the port of Salina Cruz, Oaxaca. This is one of the strategic projects of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador. The authorities have said that they aspire to make it a complementary infrastructure to the Panama Canal.
The decree —signed by President López Obrador— justifies the measure for reasons of “national security” and states that “for the efficient operation of the logistics platform, it is imperative to have control and administration of all the railway lines that comprise the Interoceanic Corridor of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, among which are the sections today concessioned to Ferrosur”.
It adds that for this reason it is declared “of public utility the conservation and provision of the public rail transport service, its use, exploitation, operation, exploitation and other improvements” of the three sections.
The occupied sections are those that run from Medias Aguas to Coatzacoalcos, from Hibueras to Minatitlán and from El Chapo to Coatzacoalcos, all in Veracruz.
The measure invokes various laws, including one on expropriation, which allows the government to take control of private assets in exchange for compensation. The decree specifies that “the compensation that proceeds for temporary occupation must consist of compensation at market value.”
The expropriated railway lines are referred to in the concession title in favor of Ferrosur published in the Official Gazette of the Federation on December 14, 1998 and in its subsequent modification, published in that official media on November 29, 2012.
During the trading session on Friday in Mexico, the shares of Grupo México fell 4.25%.
Grupo México Transportes emphasized that it will continue to provide its services to its users “without any affectation for the moment, only with the surveillance of the Armed Forces.”
The billionaire Germán Larrea —with businesses in mining and other sectors— is the last bidder for the acquisition of Citibanamex —one of the most important banks in the country— from the US financial conglomerate Citigroup. On Tuesday, López Obrador said that the negotiations for this sale were going “very well” and that “one of the possible buyers is Grupo México.”
