Judge refuses to suspend works of Section 5 of the Mayan Train

Cancun, QR. The fourth district judge based in Yucatán denied a provisional suspension of the works of the Mayan Train in Section 5 that goes from Cancun to Tulum.

On this occasion, environmental organizations requested to suspend the work arguing that the piles that will be inserted into the subsoil to support the passage of the Mayan Train on karstic soil are not foreseen in the project evaluated and authorized by the Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources (Semarnat ), which, they say, jeopardizes the community’s right to a healthy environment.

In this regard, the judge’s ruling establishes that the project is already supported by an Environmental Impact Statement (MIA) authorized by Semarnat, in view of which, “the complainants, through a legitimate but individual interest, intend to paralyze its effects and consequences”.

The ruling also adds that “it is not demonstrated that with the execution of the project in the authorized section, imminent and irreparable damage to the environment could be caused”, since this is confirmed by the authorization already granted by Semarnat.

“It is idle to analyze the various requirements established for the granting of the requested suspension; therefore, the requested provisional suspension is denied regarding the consequences of the claimed acts related to the construction and execution of Section 5 of the aforementioned project due to the claimed environmental authorization”, concludes the judge’s argument.

Counterarguments

The environmentalists assure that “judge Adrián Fernández Novelo denied the precautionary measures without taking into account all the compelling evidence of the violation of environmental legislation, local regulations for caves and caverns, and even the Environmental Impact Statement itself that they presented, where work on caves is not foreseen or authorized, much less inside them”.

They add that “the judge’s lack of probity can immediately cause irreversible damage and contamination of underground rivers.”

Among the main irregularities, they indicate that the National Fund for Tourism Promotion (Fonatur) “is executing the works of said section without having the authorizations regarding change of land use in forest lands, which is required by the General Law of Sustainable Forest Development and its Regulations, and that in accordance with article 97 of this general law, it can no longer be issued and granted in at least 20 years, due to the fact that the clearing was done illegally by not processing or obtaining prior to said works. the corresponding authorizations, without forgetting that it also constitutes a federal crime, in accordance with article 418, sections I and II of the Federal Penal Code.”

Likewise, they specify that Semarnat itself in the environmental impact authorization establishes clear conditions to prevent caverns, cenotes, caves or underground rivers from being affected during the execution of the project, however, the plan presented by the president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, based on the swelling of piles through the abundant caves of Section 5 contradict the conditions and are a clear violation of environmental legislation.

Derived from this, they specify that according to experts, Section 5 of the Mayan Train will affect the most extensive and important underwater systems in the world, known as Dos Ojos-Sac Actun, which has a total length of 371,958 km, which connect with the more than 70 caves, caverns, cenotes and underground rivers that feed the Quintana Roo aquifer.

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