SEMARNAT Head’s Resignation Yet To Be Accepted

SEMARNAT Minister Víctor Manuel Toledo Manzur turned in his letter of resignation to the president’s office yesterday after a controversial audio recording of a work meeting filled the airwaves, where he harshly criticizes the federal agenda and fellow members of the president’s cabinet, including Alfonso Romo. El Universal reports that while the letter has been received, the president has yet to accept Toledo Manzur’s resignation. Toledo Manzur has held that position for less than a year after replacing Josefa González Blanco, who left the position last year after a social media scandal in which she was accused of demanding that a commercial flight should be delayed to fit her schedule.

In the audio recording in question, Toledo Manzur calls the administration “full of contradictions” and “a collection of clear and polished objectives, nonexistent.” He also focused his criticism on the lack of environmental regulation over the agricultural sector.  

Ready for more? Here’s the Week in Infrastructure!

Mayan Train Cost Increases, Will Feature Electric Segments

The reported price in official government accounting documents for the construction of the Mayan Train has increased 12 percent. According to a report from El Economista, FONATUR leader Rogelio Jiménez Pons says that this is due to the project’s balance sheet absorbing the cost of expanding highway capacity alongside the train’s route in the Merida-Cancun and Cancun-Chetumal segments. Pons also says that he is in talks with SHCP to take these works out of the project’s accounting. These segments of the train will be fully electric, while the rest will run on a diesel-electric system.  

Mexico City-Toluca Train to Open In 2022

New SCT Head Jorge Arganis Díaz Leal visited the Santa Fe stations of the currently under construction Mexico City-Toluca Interurban Train. According to an official press release from SCT, the train will have a total length of 58km, 48km of which will run along elevated tracks with 5km running along tunneled tracks. Thirty trains with five wagons each will transport a total of 230,000 people daily across a total of six stations which will begin in Mexico City’s western Observatorio metro and bus station and finish in the Toluca suburb of Zicantepec. Díaz Leal announced that the train is slated to be inaugurated in 2022. 

More Resignations at SCT

T21 reports that more leaders within SCT and the General Coordination of Ports & Merchant Marine have resigned and their positions are yet to be filled. These resignations include Director General of Ports Fernando Bustamante, Merchant Marine Director General Francisco Javier Fernández Perroni and Director General of Port Investment and Administration Luz Alicia Iturbe de Garay.

Tlaxcala Housing Initiative Signed

INFONAVIT has signed an initiative with the Tlaxcala state government to support an increase in housing construction. A report from Inmobiliare claims that the agreement will provide, among other things, beneficial tax incentives for housing credits.