Fonatur pressures Mayan communities to sell or rent their land for Mayan Train

1058

Pedro Uc, member of the Assembly of Defenders of the Mayan Territory “Múuch ‘Ximbal”, assured that the National Fund for the Promotion of Tourism (Fonatur) has been pressing for months for ejidatarios to sell or rent their lands, and thus give way to the Maya Train.

In an interview, the activist demanded what he classified as “threats”, the pressures that have been received by members of Fonatur, which have been more constant for 4 months: “they tell us that whether or not we want the Mayan train it will happen, that if we do not sell we will take the landThey intimidate us for our land which is the most important for us, but with all the megaprojects that exist in the Yucatan Peninsula, they are only expelling us ».

Image result for tren maya

“They have told us that the Government can expropriate the land at a certain moment – they have not set a date for us – because they are needed. Even the director of Fonatur has been awkward in his statements because he has said that the Mayan Train goes over anybody ». (Fonatur indicates that she is ready for possible protection against the Mayan Train ).

He pointed out that people who have approached them have not specified what the sale of land would be like and the cost that they could have, only that “they will pay well”; even, he said, they have changed the speech: “they say that they will not pay us, but that once the Fibra Tren Maya leaves we will become partners of the project and the money will be divided according to a percentage, but they are not given more information about”. For Pedro Uc this would be another mechanism of dispossession.

Image result for tren maya

He explained that the consultations carried out by the body led by Rogelio Jiménez Pons are a farce: “out of 88 Mayan communities, only one of them consulted and all the members of the Morena party went to vote, so it turned out that we supported the Train.”

Uc added that the Mayan Train project will complicate things for Mayan natives since they know that there will be more real estate development, which will “deforest the jungle and our culture. We have to defend our identity. ” (Indigenous communities of Yucatan reject construction of the Mayan Train ).

That is why the Assembly of Defenders of the Mayan Territory “Múuch ‘Ximbal” is dedicated to informing the communities in their native language of the pros and cons that the Mayan megaproject would bring to their communities, with the objective of having elements and information Enough to make a decision.

He considered that the people, knowing the situation and the outlook for the future, demonstrate against the railway work, because it reminds them of the Porfirian train that arrived years ago and was a Mayan massacre that lived in the Yucatan Peninsula. “Thinking about the way is again and the project is to kill us too and take the land, because how are we going to survive?”

Image result for tren maya

«The team of Rogelio Jiménez Pons only meets with certain characters of the community that sells themselves to his idea, but it does not open to those who are against us to carry out a dialogue. The decision is made and we are not taken into account, “he said.

Finally, he asked the Federal Government, the Ministry of Tourism and Fonatur himself to respect their lands and their identity, “dialogue will always be interesting, as long as it is the same because otherwise, they impose on us something we never ask them to do”.

JIMÉNEZ PONS CALLED TO NOT SELL LANDS 
A few days ago, Rogelio Jimenez Pons assured that Fonatur will not buy land and that “it will empower the local inhabitants to associate them to the Mayan Train business and will seek not to displace them.” 
He asked the indigenous Mayans not to sell their lands. lands, in order to avoid the speculation of them in what will be the route of the Mayan Train. In addition, he recalled that they will be associated with the owners of the land and thus not encourage corruption

Source: nitu, el economista

The Mazatlan Post