Mayan Train Construction/AICM Flights Will Be Reduced

Rescue of mine workers. National Coordinator of Civil Protection Laura Velázquez Alzúa assured that there is no risk of a collapse at the coal mine in Coahuila, where 10 mine workers are trapped. In addition, Velázquez stressed that at no time were the rescue efforts suspended, as reported by the media. "We are facing weather difficulties. However,  we are not going to leave the area until we rescue the 10 miners.”

On August 3, 15 miners were working at a depth of 60m in the coal mine located in Sabinas, Coahuila, when the walls of the tunnels collapsed, flooding the three pits. For a week, authorities have been draining the water to enter the mine and rescue the miners, whose health status remains unknown. At the time of the accident, five of the 15 mine workers managed to escape. Currently, the relatives of the victims have complained about the lack of transparency and progress of the authorities. Velázquez stressed that the rescue efforts have continued non-stop for the past 183 hours and that the trapped miners are expected to be rescued today.

The construction of the Mayan Train will continue. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador assured that the construction of the Mayan Train will continue despite multiple attempts by the opposition to suspend it. “They can stop us for a while, as it occurred with section five of the Mayan Train, but we are going to make up for lost time.”

Last month after the government declared the construction of the Mayan Train to be a national security issue, a judge refused to lift the suspension for section 5. The First District Judge in Yucatan, Adrián Fernando Novelo, said that the section remains suspended because construction work poses irreversible damage to a system of caves, cenotes and underground rivers. However, judges have recently revoked five of the six injunctions against the construction of the project.

The overall population continues to resist the construction of the Mayan Train Section 5 South, a key part of one of President López Obrador's flagship infrastructure megaprojects, since it could damage the karst landscapes, harm the integrity of cenotes and cause significant deforestation, as well as destroy archeological and paleontological remains. Following the suspension of the project's construction by a federal judge in May 2022, the National Fund for the Promotion of Tourism (FONATUR) and environmental ministry SEMARNAT published the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), since its absence caused the project's suspension. As part of the attempts to reactivate construction, federal authorities called for a consultation to assess the project's viability. However, civil organizations said the consultation process was found to be lacking substantial information.

Flights will be limited in the AICM. López Obardor announced that in the remainder of the year, arrival and departure flights at Terminal 2 at the Mexico City International Airport (AICM) will be limited due to its high saturation. “The decision to limit the number of flights was made to disguise the problem. In addition, we will carry out reinforcement works, which will not represent any risk.”

In March, the Federal Civil Aviation Agency (AFAC) declared operations at the two AICM terminals to be saturated. The reinforcement works in the AICM will focus mainly on strengthening Terminal 2 foundation structure.  The works will have a total investment of MX$600 million (US$30.07 million).