Maya Train Construction in Quintana Roo Linked to Rise in Violence Against Women, Study Finds

Chetumal, Quintana Roo — The construction of the Maya Train in Quintana Roo not only generated employment and economic activity during the project, but also led to a significant increase in cases of violence against women, including abandonment, debt, pregnancies, and disappearances, according to a new study.

Yunitzilin Rodríguez Pedraza, a member of the Academic Body of Multidisciplinary Studies in Human Rights and Public Security at the Autonomous University of Quintana Roo, presented the findings, stating that statistics from a recent diagnosis indicate the federal government’s mega-project caused a spike in violence against women.

“Many men came from other states to work, and the human rights violations against women that accompanied these migrations were severe,” Rodríguez Pedraza said. “There were numerous cases where girls and adolescents were romanced by these individuals, left pregnant when the relationships ended and the men departed. Many were also deceived into taking on debt. The data shows increased femicides, more disappearances of girls, and human trafficking issues in the Maya region, with reports revealing a significant rise since 2024.”

She emphasized that the migratory flow prompted by the railway project resulted in negative impacts due to a lack of public prevention and containment policies from state administration, leading to a higher number of human rights violations against women in the region.

Rodríguez Pedraza, who is also an activist with the Marea Verde collective, revealed that harassment and hostile behavior by military personnel overseeing the Maya Train in the state persist toward women working at the stations. These civilians reportedly face mistreatment and various unacceptable behaviors.

“We have many reports of violence and workplace harassment by military personnel working on the Maya Train, who are in charge of individuals with numerous harassment complaints and internal violations,” she said. “So the violence continues. A project of this scale brings associated violence for everyone, but specifically for women, in the face of a state that has been negligent and fails to work on prevention and containment measures for the consequences these migrations and this large-scale project have brought.”

She added that there have also been a series of cultural, economic, and social complications, as the Maya Train has raised questions about women’s rights not being guaranteed or respected.