The editorial desk of La Jornada
Mexico City- The government of Mexico will seek for the armed forces to remain in charge of a State company that will have the objective of heading up the administration and operation of three routes of the Mayan Train, the airports of Chetumal, Palenque and Tulum (the next to begin its construction, as well as the international air terminal Felipe, Ángeles, Andrés Manuel Lopez Obrador announced yesterday.
From the archeological zone of Tulum, where he signed with the governors of the region the agreement for territorial and urban planning within the framework of the development of the works of the Mayan Train, the president explained that the the objective of the creation of said State company is to protect the project from the temptation of privatizing it, and explained that he utilities would be use to finance the pensions and retirements of the units of the Army and Navy.
“The administration, the operation of the train, we have to define over time. We are thinking that from Tulum to Palenque, which are three lines of the train, plus the airports of Tulum, Chetumal, Palenque and the air terminal of Felipe Ángeles in Mexico City will be managed by a company that depends on the armed forces with the purpose of ensuring the administration of the train and airports is good, and that it is self-sufficient, and that the utilities are directed toward strengthening the finances of its pensioned and retired officials,” he indicated.
To Guarantee Security
Another objective of the projects being administered by the Army and Navy, he added, is that we can guarantee security in the region; here we have to make sure that we don’t have any problems of insecurity, so that all who visit the region are guaranteed to be safe.
In front of the governors of Quintana Roo, Carlos Joaquín González; ofYucatán, Mauricio Vila Dosal; of Chiapas, Rutilio Escandón; of Tabasco, Adán Augusto López, y of Campeche, Carlos Miguel Aysa González, who signed the agreement for territorial and urban planning in the region, along with the representative of United Nations-Habitat Mexico, Eduardo López Moreno, as a honorary witness, the head of the Executive detailed that all of the projects in the region represent a join investment of 200 billion pesos.
The budget accounts for, besides the Mayan Train, the infrastructure actions for electric and gas energy, remodeling of maritime ports, the Tulum airport, highways and social development for the region.
Recalling that this month the first phase of vaccinations against Covid-19 will begin, he noted that the advancement of this process seeks, in addition to addressing the health issue, the recuperation of the influx of tourism to pre-pandemic levels.
Meanwhile, he stressed, that jobs are created with this project; it is as if hotels and infrastructure of other kinds were being built on the sections of the Mayan Train. It is providing a lot of work and there will be still more opportunities for employment.
For their part, the 5 governors of the states where the Mayan Train will pass expressed their willingness to work in a coordinated manner on the projects outlined as the economic trigger that the Mexican southeast requires.
This article was initially published in Spanish in La Jornada on December 21st, 2020. https://www.jornada.com.mx/ultimas/politica/2020/12/21/amlo-a-operacion-militar-tren-maya-y-4-aeropuertos-6681.html This English interpretation has been re-published by Schools for Chiapas in collaboration with Chiapas Support Committee.