“Maya Train Construction Halted by Judge – Environmentalists Celebrate Victory!”

A federal judge has ruled against the construction of Section 5 of the Maya Train, marking the second legal setback for the project. The judge ordered an immediate stop to construction work on the southern section of the train line, which runs from Playa del Carmen to Tulum.

The ruling came in response to an injunction filed by a group of environmentalists from Tulum. The judge granted a definitive suspension, which will remain in effect until a final ruling is made. The resolution was issued by the First District Judge of Yucatan, Adrian Fernando Novelo, on June 13.

The lawsuit, which was filed in March 2022, alleges that the project failed to uphold its obligations to protect and guarantee human rights. These rights include access to information, citizen participation, access to water, and the implementation of preventive measures to safeguard the environment.

The defendants in the case include the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (Semarnat), the General Directorate of Environmental Impact and Risk (DGIRA), the Federal Attorney for Environmental Protection, Fonatur Maya Train, and the companies Grupo Mexico, Grupo Acciona and Southeast Developments.

The judge's ruling focused on the project's failure to comply with condition 26 of the Environmental Impact Statement. This condition outlined a series of measures that the judge believes were violated during the project's execution.

This latest ruling follows a previous one that also ordered a halt to the train's construction. Both rulings were based on non-compliance with condition 26 of the Environmental Impact Statement, which imposed various prohibitions.

The judge identified several instances of environmental damage, including the dumping of material from land cuts and excavations to cover, fill or obstruct cenotes, caves or rivers. These actions, the judge stated, result in irreversible damage to the ecosystem.

The ruling emphasized that the precautionary measures were imposed due to the risk of further prohibited actions and irreversible ecological damage. The decision to grant the precautionary measure was made in order to protect the environment of the affected area.