Cancun, QR. The First District Court, based in Mérida, postponed until July 28 the constitutional hearing that will resolve the merits of whether to grant protection to the environmental cause that requires the cancellation of Section 5 south of the Mayan Train.
The foregoing implies that the works of the train should remain paralyzed until that date, since the definitive suspension of works has been in force since May 18, derived from protection 884/2022 promoted by divers-cavers from Playa del Carmen.
However, an incidental hearing is scheduled for next July 1 that will resolve the challenge filed by the National Fund for the Promotion of Tourism (Fonatur) against said definitive suspension.
In a previous interview, the spokesman for Fonatur, Fernando Vázquez Rosas, assured that there is confidence on the part of the federal government in reversing the injunctions, since the Environmental Impact Statement (MIA) of Section 5 is very close to being approved, which will be presented before the courts so that the works are no longer paralyzed.
Amparo 884/2022 disputes the fact that the clearing of the jungle for Section 5 south, west of Playa el Carmen, began before Fonatur had the environmental impact authorization, which is a requirement to start this type of work. on forest land, as established by the General Law of Ecological Balance and Environmental Protection (Legeepa).
Given this, Vázquez Rosas said that “the Mayan Train is endorsed by a provisional authorization granted by the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (Semarnat), as well as by the agreement signed by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador that makes this and others federal projects, such as the Dos Bocas refinery, works of public interest and national security, which allows them to start works in advance before processing the environmental impact authorization.”
Antecedent
Antonella Vázquez, representative of the organization Right to a Healthy Environment (DMAS), explained that there are at least three other appeals with provisional suspensions that dispute the environmental evaluation process of Section 5 South, because it began months after the clearing of jungle will begin to walk to make way for the railway.
They also dispute the agreement of November 2021 by which the large infrastructure projects of the federal government, including the Mayan Train, are declared of public utility and national security, since said agreement exempts these projects from undergoing an environmental evaluation such as Legeepa marks it.
“What the judge tells Fonatur with the ruling in which he grants the definitive suspension of the works (amparo 884/2022) is that although they are presenting a provisional authorization, the law establishes that they must undergo an environmental evaluation procedure before to start any type of work or clearing of vegetation”, he explained.
“The judge is very consistent with the provisional suspension that he had already granted, recognizing the legitimate interest of the divers who claim their right to a healthy environment,” added the activist, who also led the injunctions that canceled Malecón Tajamar four years ago. .