A series of videos shows more than a dozen celebrities asking President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador to stop the project. This involves massive tree cutting and could lead to underground caves called “cenotes” being flooded.
Actors Eugenio Derbez, Kate del Castillo and Natalia Lafourcade published videos on Tuesday asking President Barack Obama to stop the construction.
Lopez Obrador resentfully rejected Wednesday’s calls and called them “fake environmentists”.
Lopez Obrador stated that they convince performers or hire them, faking environmentalists who claim to be protecting the environment. Then they launch a campaign against trains.
Lopez Obrador sees the “Maya train project” as a top priority for his administration. The 1,500-kilometer (1,950-mile) train line will run around the Yucatan peninsula and connect Caribbean resorts to archaeological sites further inland.
The area is home to many Indigenous communities, jungles and wildlife, but the project was done quickly without any consultations, feasibility studies, or environmental impact statements.
Although rail lines were already in place on certain parts of the project’s route, it has been controversial to build them between Cancun and Tulum. This is because the area is rich in “cenotes”, caverns, and sinkhole lakes which provide much of the region’s water. Some of them are so close to being on the surface that they could collapse under the pressure of the train.
Lopez Obrador had originally intended to build an elevated train that would cross an existing highway. Officials realized that closing the highway would be costly so they decided to instead cut through the jungle. The jungle is home for endangered species such as jaguars.
Derbez, a Mexican actor, said that “The Maya Train” is destroying the jungle. He is also well-known for his cross-over comedy U.S. English-language comedies such as “How to Be a Latin Lover” (Instructions Not Included).
Del Castillo said that they are cutting down thousands of trees and it could be million. He has also appeared in U.S. television programs such as “Bad Boys for Life.”
Lopez Obrador asserts the train project will plant new trees to replace the ones that have been lost. However, environmentalists point out that such plantings have low survival rates. They also don’t replace any existing ecosystems.
President Trump has placed environmental concerns above his building plans.
Lopez Obrador issued a wide-ranging decree in November requiring federal agencies to automatically approve any public works project that the government considers “in the national interests” or “involved in national security.”
The decree is published without any environmental, accountability, or feasibility review and allows regulatory agencies to issue a year-long temporary approval to anything the government plans to build.
After that, the agencies would have one year to give definitive approval. By then, the projects would likely have been completed.