Maya Train Project: 7 Million Trees Cut Down!

The construction of the Maya Train, a major railway project in Mexico, has resulted in the felling of 7 million trees. This is despite initial promises by Andrés Manuel López Obrador in 2018 that the project would not involve tree cutting. The railway route spans 1,554 kilometers through five Southeast Mexican states: Chiapas, Tabasco, Campeche, Quintana Roo, and Yucatán.

Environmental protection associations have claimed that the actual number of felled trees could be over 10 million. Mexicans Against Corruption and Impunity (MCCI) recently released an audio recording with testimonies from individuals affected by the deforestation. Alama Ileana May Herrera, a resident of Campeche, expressed her sadness at the sight of the falling trees and the impact on local communities.

A significant portion of the tree felling occurred in section 5 of the railway route, where over 3 million trees were cut down. This section was later divided into two parts: Section 5 North (Cancún – Playa del Carmen) and Section 5 South (Playa del Carmen – Tulum).

The Maya Train project began in Palenque, Chiapas in 2018 with a ritual to "ask permission from mother earth". However, critics have called this a farce, as the project has resulted in the loss of millions of trees, often referred to as "children" of the earth.

The government has since admitted to the felling of more than 7 million trees for the Maya Train construction between 2019 and 2023. This information was revealed in a report from the National Transparency Platform.

Fonatur Maya Train, in response to an information request, confirmed that the most deforested section is the Cancún-Tulum stretch, with 3,505,908 trees felled. This is followed by the Tulum-Chetumal section, where 2,670,190 trees were cut down.