Mexico City — Senators from the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) have demanded that the Federal Government provide transparency regarding the expenditure on electrical infrastructure for the Maya Train project. This demand comes as Maya communities in Quintana Roo and Campeche face prolonged blackouts that leave them without basic services for up to three days at a time.
Through a formal Point of Agreement, the legislators called on the Secretary of Energy, the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE), and the National Fund for the Promotion of Tourism (Fonatur) to detail the technical, financial, and social criteria that justified an investment of over 8 billion pesos in substations and electrical lines for the flagship railway and industrial megaproject. This is while precarious service persists in indigenous communities.
The document also demands that the government specify the measures of reparation, indemnification, or compensation applied for the occupation of lands and damages caused by power cuts. Furthermore, it requires information on whether prior, free, and informed consultations were conducted with the communities, in accordance with International Labour Organization Convention 169.
"Guaranteeing access to basic services is a fundamental human right, indispensable for the well-being and development of communities. It is contradictory that public spending is prioritized for a tourist megaproject while thousands of Maya families still lack electricity in their homes," the legislators stated.
They warned that electricity is an essential public service and that its absence exacerbates the historical inequality faced by indigenous peoples. They emphasized that the lack of transparency and accountability in the management of resources destined for the Maya Train reflects a painful contrast: modern railway infrastructure for visitors, but darkness and deprivation for the communities inhabiting the region.
Federal Government Announces Separate National Grid Investment
On Thursday, President Claudia Sheinbaum, accompanied by the head of the CFE, announced that 8.177 billion dollars will soon be invested in the state-owned utility company to expand and modernize the national electrical grid.
The Secretary of Energy, Luz Elena González Escobar, stated that the Mexican government will invest the aforementioned sum for the construction of strategic power lines, electrical substations, and to expand circuit kilometers.
"In the present administration, an investment of 8.177 billion dollars will be allocated. That is, approximately 173.54 billion pesos for the construction of 275 strategic lines. This amounts to 6,735 circuit kilometers and the construction of 524 new electrical substations. State-of-the-art technology will be incorporated," she stated.
This investment plan is divided into three main zones: the Northern Zone, the Central Zone, and the Southern Zone. In this last region, 30 projects will be carried out, of which 5 are finished and 25 are under construction. According to the Federal Government, this will allow for the creation of 48 transmission lines and 96 substations.
The plan seeks to provide power to 1 million households in states such as Chiapas, Veracruz, Guerrero, Oaxaca, Tabasco, Campeche, Yucatán, and Quintana Roo, supporting the industrial and tourist zones of the peninsula and the Isthmus of Tehuantepec.
In total, the investment for the three zones of the country is destined to strengthen electrical infrastructure, with the stated aim of addressing the needs of the Poles of Development for Well-being and industry in general. However, while it is claimed that 50 million people will benefit, no concrete explanation is provided on how this impact will be achieved.
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