Huay Pix Residents in Standoff Over Maya Train Access

Residents of Huay Pix have been obstructing the construction of the Maya Train in the Industrial Park area for 25 days. Their protest will continue until project leaders begin creating access routes to their homes, which have become isolated due to the installation of the tracks. Some residents have even erected tents to deter security personnel from fencing off the area, an action they attempted a few weeks ago.

Since the start of the month, locals have been gathering each night to remove the sleepers that workers install during the day. This ongoing resistance seems to have worn down federal representatives, who have recently stopped replacing the sleepers.

"We've formally requested a bridge and the Ministry of National Defense has committed to building it. However, there's been no progress and we've received no further information about our case. We won't leave until our request is met," stated Rodrigo Valencia González, a representative of the affected residents. He highlighted that over 200 families would be isolated from their homes or plots of land, as the only alternative would be a roughly 10-kilometer detour to the nearest safe crossing.

González noted that the residents support the federal Maya Train project and believe it will bring prosperity to the area. They even willingly donated portions of their land that weren't included in the original project to help make it a reality.

"Many people say it's not a big deal, that we just need to travel the extra 10 kilometers. But they don't understand that most residents in this area are older adults who travel on foot or by bicycle," he explained. However, he also warned that the issue of isolation due to the train tracks was not considered from the beginning of the project.