New Decree to Address Monterrey Drought/Economy Grows

Drought crisis in Monterrey. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador signed a decree so that the National Water Commission supports the government of Nuevo Leon in guaranteeing water supply. “Today we sign and publish a decree to support the government of Nuevo Leon and the municipal governments in the metropolitan area. This will guarantee access to drinking water for the inhabitants for about 10 years.”

Monterrey, the second largest city in the country with 5.3 million inhabitants, has been declared in extreme drought since the beginning of the year. However, July has been the month where access to water has been most difficult. Currently, the citizens only have six hours a day of water pumping to ration the state's reserves, which are less than 5 percent. However, this week work began to extract water from the Chapotal community to supply 200 liters of water per second and benefit 600,000 residents.

Mexico's economy grows. López Obrador celebrated that the results of the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI) show that during 2Q22 the country's economy grew. “Today the INEGI confirmed that the Mexican economy is on the right track. We have two percent growth this semester compared to the previous one. While in other countries it is being reported that the economy is decreasing, in Mexico we are growing.”

The INEGI reported that according to the Timely Estimate of the Quarterly Gross Domestic Product (EOPIBT) in 2Q22 there was a growth of 1 percent compared to the previous quarter, marking three quarters of continuous economic growth. The growth occurred in tertiary activities such as commerce, which represent around 60 percent of the economic activity. Meanwhile, secondary and primary activities registered a quarterly growth of 0.9 percent each.

Mayan Train construction. López Obrador stressed that this Saturday he will travel to supervise the construction work on the Mayan Train section five.  López Obrador emphasized that the section was declared a matter of national security so that its construction could continue despite criticism from opponents. “The people of Quintana Roo have always been very supportive of the project because it is an investment that will benefit them. Imagine a resort that becomes even more attractive.”

This week after the government declared the construction of the Mayan Train to be a national security issue, a judge refused to lift the suspension on the works on section 5. The First District Judge in the State of Yucatan, Adrián Fernando Novelo, said that the section remains suspended because the works pose irreversible damage to a system of caves, cenotes and underground rivers.

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.