• CONSULTATION: Just days after the Mexican Government claimed unanimous support, the UN’s High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) criticized the consultation process of indigenous communities on the construction of a USD 6.3 billion train across the Yucatan Peninsula.
• TRAIN: More than 950 miles long, the Mayan Train is a signature project of the López Obrador Administration which aims to connect the resorts of Mexico’s Caribbean Coast to the Mayan jungle in Chiapas crossing through indigenous communities including Maya, Ch’ol, Tzotzil and Tzeltal.
• INCOMPLETE: “During the assemblies we observed, participants asked (the Government) in several occasions about (the train’s) impacts without obtaining a clear and complete answer”, said OHCHR´s Mexico City office adding that its personnel attended 8 of the 15 assemblies held last weekend.
• STANDARDS: Moreover the UN agency said that the recent Mayan Train consultation process did not meet all the international standards for a free, prior, informed and culturally appropriate process with indigenous communities; the Government says construction bids will move forward in January.
