The Government of Mexico promotes the Mayan Train, a multimillion-dollar project that continues to provoke protests. It is a social project “to promote economic development, tourism and control illegal migration a little,” explains Blanca Jiménez Cisneros, Mexico’s ambassador to France. A sector of the population in that area fears for its rich environmental and pre-Hispanic heritage, which contrasts with the government’s efforts to recover archaeological pieces that left the country illegally.
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 Riviera Maya each year and employ 300,000 people. Started in 2020, it is due to start operating in 2024.
This project 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”, explains the Mexican ambassador to France, Blanca Jiménez Cisneros.
“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 towards the the Riviera Maya, there are many important areas that could also be known. Of course, it is very important to protect everything that is the ecological part, it is a very rich area 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 train route and it is almost being followed. 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,” adds 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, Panama, El Salvador. They are living today in Mexico and the population is also quite restless,” he says.
The question that arises is whether the construction of the train will not allow undocumented 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 the other side of the Atlantic.
“Relations with France are excellent. The president dedicates his time mainly to things in Mexico. I think it is difficult to understand the rhythm of work that the president has. Every day he begins at six in the morning, at seven 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 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, “he replies.
“And I believe that it can be done, just as washed 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, the relationship with these objects, the knowledge, the culture and the appreciation of the people is beginning to be understood, because there are cases in which deities of populations that have a very deep meaning are even being sold. I think that, in the case of France, which is a very cultured population, which likes to travel and which recognizes these types of values a lot, it is possible for them to change, “he adds.
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, affirms our guest.
“Sometimes I say, how would you (French) feel if we auctioned off 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 Government of France 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 Abu Dhabi, is going to make us review the legislation and the working mechanisms here, in France. In fact, we already know that the (French) Senate is interested in the case of Mexico and in the case of Latin America”, he concludes.
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