Maya Train Construction Damages Ancient Monuments

Mexico City — The National Union of Professors of Scientific Research and Teaching of the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH), through its Commission for the Protection and Legislation of Archaeological and Paleontological Heritage, has convened a discussion panel for Tuesday. The event will present evidence of the destruction of archaeological heritage during the construction of the "Parks of Memory," works derived from the Maya Train railway megaproject.

A Response to Official Presentation

The panel, titled "The destruction and plunder of archaeological monuments. The Maya Train and the Báalam Tun Park: an unjustified practice," is organized as a direct response to an academic panel convened by INAH authorities. That official panel will feature officials involved in the archaeological salvage works for the Maya Train, who are set to present on the transfer and "deconstruction" of archaeological pieces.

According to information obtained by EL UNIVERSAL, the official academic panel, which will include the participation of the director of the Maya Train archaeological salvage, Manuel Pérez Rivas, will be closed to the public. It will not be broadcast on social networks, and media outlets will not be permitted to enter.

Allegations of Censorship and Mutilation

Critical researchers of the Maya Train project have denounced this closed-door policy as an act of censorship by the institution. They argue it demonstrates a fear of publicly displaying the salvage works for the Maya Train and the construction of the "Parks of Memory," because vestiges of Mayan monuments have been mutilated with the intention of building tourist sites.

Archaeologists Fernando Cortés de Brasdefer and Jesús E. Sánchez will participate in the union's panel. They prepared an initial report demonstrating the destruction of pre-Hispanic monuments in sections 6 and 7 of the Maya Train.

They will be joined by emeritus researcher Noemí Castillo, who has 70 years of experience in archaeology, as well as archaeologists Fernando González Zozaya and Fiorella Fenoglio Limón, both INAH researchers. These scholars also join the criticism of the destruction of archaeological heritage.

Conflicting Events

On the same Tuesday, according to INAH sources, the official academic panel "The Deconstruction and Relocation of Archaeological Heritage in Mexico: The Cases of Quintana Roo and Campeche" is scheduled to be held at the Museum of Anthropology at 10:00 a.m., featuring various Institute officials. This event has not been confirmed by the authorities or through the Institute's official channel.

The union's discussion panel, "The destruction and plundering of archaeological monuments. The Maya Train and the Báalam Tun Park: an unjustified practice," will be held at the INAH Union Hall, located at Córdoba 45 in the Roma neighborhood, at 12 noon.