CFE Powers Maya Train But Leaves Locals in the Dark

Felipe Carrillo Puerto, Quintana Roo — The Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) has installed high-voltage power poles along the route connecting the Polyuc substation to the Maya Train station in Felipe Carrillo Puerto without consulting or compensating affected ejidatarios (communal landowners). Despite the infrastructure’s proximity, local communities remain without electricity access.

Unauthorized Construction Sparks Legal Disputes

The CFE erected the towering power poles—approximately twice the height of standard low-voltage poles—in mid-October 2023 on ejidal lands near Federal Highway 184. Under Mexican law, such projects require prior authorization from the ejido assembly to initiate expropriation and compensation processes. However, no such approval was sought.

When workers began construction, former ejidal commissioner Fray Colli Colli and other residents confronted them. “Who gave you permission to enter here? No one asked us,” Colli recounted. CFE representatives promised a community meeting to address the issue, but the assembly never occurred, and construction continued.

In response, residents of X-Yatil and neighboring ejidos—Dzula, X-Pichil, Betania, and Chunhuas—blocked the highway. The protest led to a tense assembly with government officials, who warned of legal repercussions for further disruptions. The CFE later filed a lawsuit against the former ejidal commissioner for obstructing construction, and military convoys were deployed to X-Yatil, which locals described as intimidation.

“It’s a blatant land grab,” Colli said. “The government entered like bandits, taking what they wanted as if they owned everything. These are our lands, and they invaded them without legal expropriation.”

Electrification for the Maya Train, Not Communities

The 53-kilometer power line is part of a broader effort to electrify 690 kilometers (44%) of the Maya Train’s route, with the remaining 56% relying on diesel. The project includes 40 substations and 10 transmission lines across southeastern Mexico.

Rafael Antonio Ramírez Ríos, CFE’s Coordinator of Transmission and Transformation Projects, claimed the infrastructure would improve regional electricity service. Yet, blackouts persist in the Yucatán Peninsula, where rapid demographic and tourism growth strains the grid. A March 24 outage affected 1.3 million residents—nearly a third of the peninsula’s population.

Legal Battles and Delayed Justice

The ejidos of X-Yatil filed two lawsuits: one against the CFE and the Ministry of Communications and Transportation (SCT), another against the National Fund for Tourism Development (Fonatur). The first hearing against Fonatur was scheduled for August 5 but has been postponed five times.

Flavio Ayuso, the ejido’s lawyer, accused authorities of deliberately bypassing legal procedures to expedite construction. “The government occupied the land, cleared it, built, and only then attempted to resolve payments,” he said. “This happened in at least 12 ejidos across Felipe Carrillo Puerto and José María Morelos municipalities.”

Ayuso noted that many communities lack funds for private legal representation, leaving them vulnerable to lowball compensation offers from the Institute for Administration and Appraisal of National Assets (Indaabin).

A Ceremony Without Consent

In its publication Vías de luz: historia de la electrificación del Tren Maya, the CFE emphasized its “profound respect” for local Maya communities, citing a Wahil Kóol or Hanli Kóol ceremony held near the Polyuc substation on January 14, 2023, to seek permission from deities for the project. However, X-Yatil residents say their consent was never secured.

Colli expressed frustration over the delayed court proceedings. “The Chetumal court is far away, and for us rural people, the travel costs are a heavy burden.”

The case highlights ongoing tensions between infrastructure development and indigenous land rights in the region.