Guillermo D. Christy, Cenotes Urbanos, during the presentation of the report. Photo: Cuartoscuro/Moisés Pablo
MEXICO CITY. The Civil Observation Mission on the Impacts and Disasters of the Maya Train Project presented a report on the “serious and irreparable violations” of natural, individual, and collective rights in the states of Quintana Roo and Campeche, resulting from the railway construction.
The report, published on November 25th and presented at the Miguel Agustín Pro Juárez Human Rights Center in Mexico City, was the result of a tour conducted by social, environmental, and human rights organizations last April to document the transformations in communities caused by the operation of the megaproject.
Academics from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), the Autonomous University of Mexico (UAM), the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH), and the International Tribunal for the Rights of Nature accompanied the tour as observers. “Residents of the visited territories pointed to the opacity and impunity in the actions of construction companies and the Ministry of National Defense (SEDENA) regarding the socio-environmental damage caused by the project, which continues to expand,” stated the report, prepared by organizations such as the Regional Indigenous and Popular Council of Xpujil, the Mexican Civil Council for Sustainable Forestry, and Greenpeace Mexico.
The “alarming” assessment ratified the ruling of the International Tribunal for the Rights of Nature (2023), which warned of the ethnocidal and ecocidal impacts of the Maya Train. “In sections five, six, and seven alone, at least 20 million trees have been lost (…) and millions of bird nests destroyed. (…) The biological corridor (…) has been completely violated. (…) Around 130 cenotes with surface outlets have been affected; they were drilled, filled, and destroyed for the construction. (…) The damage is immeasurable,” stated researcher Guillermo D. Christy.
On another note, it was reported that the presence of armed forces in the region, which includes hotels, stations, parks, archaeological sites, and schools, has generated “a climate of fear and defenselessness,” increasing the perception of insecurity and impunity.
Residents also reported abuses of power, increased prices for basic goods, damage to their properties, exploitation of water sources, and the fencing off of public spaces, without any effective channels of communication to demand reparations or attention for the damage caused by military personnel.
María Hernández, general coordinator of the Vidas Collective, pointed out that another alarming issue is the increase in criminal and institutional violence since 2020:
“What didn’t happen in our communities—elections, murders, many disappearances (…) of young people, children, men, train workers (…) who have held strikes, filed complaints, and protested,” she said during the report’s presentation.
The organizations denounced the evident “irresponsible actions of the Ministry of National Defense (SEDENA), the omission of the Federal Attorney for Environmental Protection (PROFEPA) and the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (SEMNARAT).”
Added to this is the real estate expansion of the megaproject, which is accelerating the privatization of communal lands, while irregular settlements and tourist developments without environmental and urban permits are increasing. “The entire project was built in violation of current environmental regulations in Mexico and international agreements, shielded by presidential decrees that declared the Maya Train a national security project,” the report stated.
Hernández even mentioned the risk they run in revealing the findings of the Civil Observation Mission:
“Speaking out about what is happening is a risk; it has always been a risk for us. It seems that defending rights and demanding that things be done properly is frowned upon. Being in these spaces requires a lot of courage and bravery because we return to our communities.”
However, despite the challenges they face, the organizations reiterated their commitment to an active social fabric, with collective and legal actions to defend territories, human rights, and nature.
Original article at Proceso, November 26th, 2025.
Translated by Schools for Chiapas.