After President Andrés Manuel López Obrador invited the celebrities and environmentalists who took a stand against the Mayan Train, one of his flagship megaprojects, on Sunday, April 24, the Presidency of the Republic issued a statement announcing that the meeting was suspended on April 20. because of the indisposition of several of the attendees.
“Regarding the meeting between President Andrés Manuel López Obrador and #SélvameDelTren artists to discuss the Maya Train, several of the guests have publicly stated that they will not be attending the National Palace. For this reason, the public is informed that the meeting has been suspended,” the government of Mexico reported.
However, in the newsletter they invited the “interested parties” to visit the region of Quintana Roo to “talk to the villagers, indigenous communities and families of ejidatarios who live along section 5 of the Mayan Train, which runs from Cancun to Tulum” so that they learn that “the people were informed and consulted” and that “no cenotes, underground rivers or caverns shall be affected”.
The government even specified that two types of consultation were held, one with indigenous communities in 118 municipalities in five states and another consultation open to citizens in 84 municipalities. One thousand 78 communities participated in the indigenous consultation, 15 informative assemblies and 15 consultative assemblies were held made up of Maya, Choles, Tzeltales and Tzotzils; while more than 100,000 citizens participated in the civic consultation, of whom 92.3 percent agree with the project.
On Wednesday, April 20, through social media, the group of artists — which includes personalities such as Rubén Albarran from Café Tacvba, Barbara Mori, Eugenio Derbez, Saul Hernandez de Caifanes, Kate del Castillo, Regina Blandón — and activists accepted the invitation from President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) to discuss the construction of Section 5 of the Mayan Train.
“We are not your opponents, we are Mexican and we want life for all of us [...] President, section 5 will pass over underground rivers, caves and cenotes. A unique and the largest ecosystem in the world [...] We invite you to come and visit the area and let us listen to the experts,” Mexican celebrities said in a controversial video.
However, some of them confirmed that they were not going to be present at the meeting n for various reasons.
In view of this, the Government of Mexico insisted that the Mayan Train is more than a freight and passenger railway, since it is a “comprehensive project of sustainable development that, in addition to protecting the environment, will expand opportunities for the population of the region in terms of economic development, education, health, housing, infrastructure, culture, internet and sport”.
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