Maya Train Masons Struggle: Jobless and Savings Depleted

Masons who were employed on the Maya Train project are now jobless as contracts for the project have concluded. In the southern state, three out of every ten masons are without work. After their contracts ended, they returned home to find that private construction work had also come to a standstill.

Cesar Antonio Luit, leader of the Revolutionary Confederation of Workers and Farmers (CROC) in Othón P. Blanco, revealed that out of 800 registered construction workers, at least 300 have been unemployed for several weeks. He stated, "There is not enough public construction work in the southern state to accommodate all the workers. This has resulted in the few available jobs offering very low wages: less than 2,000 pesos a week for a mason and up to 800 pesos for an assistant."

Luit added that most masons used the two-year boom of working on the Maya Train to pay off debts and improve their living standards. However, he estimates that their savings will only support them for a few months of unemployment. "Many are venturing into the formal economy, because they have decided not to risk paying taxes and setting up legally, only to later go bankrupt and lose their investment," he noted.

Some workers migrated to other states, but eventually returned as the cost of living exceeded their earnings. "Imagine supporting a family here and also paying rent and food there. Everyone is hoping that public construction work in the southern and central area will be reactivated after the first semester, allowing them to return to work," he concluded.

Meanwhile, the Mexican Chamber of the Construction Industry Quintana Roo delegation reported that despite the demand for materials for the Maya Train decreasing as the project nears completion, the city of Chetumal is still facing a shortage of gravel, dust, blocks, cement, and steel. This shortage has hindered the reactivation of private contracts scheduled for this year. The reason for this is that while the Maya Train's need for these supplies has decreased, there are still several large-scale projects pending in the center of the country.