Mexico's Maya Train Project Threatens to Endanger Prehistoric Caves With Oldest Human Remains in North America

After experiencing several major setbacks, Mexico's President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador is racing against time to complete his landmark Maya Train project.

Lopez Obrador wanted the project to be completed before his term ended in two years. However, critics of the project are saying that this may cause harm to the environment.

They said it might also threaten one of Mexico's most important archeological sites. These sites hold some of the oldest human remains ever found in North America, and the train project may restrict access to these underground sites.

Maya Train Project in Mexico May Collapse Undiscovered Caverns; Relics May Be Lost Forever

Critics and activists are campaigning to help preserve the ancient remains found in underwater caves. According to the Associated Press, these caves are made of fragile limestone, and the high-speed rail project will be running above the roofs of these caves, known as cenotes.

These caves are often flooded, twisty, and narrow, which complicates exploring them. Activists said that it might take decades to explore these caverns, many of which have laid undisturbed for millennia.

The government is planning to sink beams and cement columns through the roofs of the caves. However, experts argued that this might lead to the collapse of these caves.

It may also further complicate the exploration of these sites, or worse, the collapse will mean that invaluable relics may be lost forever. According to the Washington Post, archaeologists have found an almost fully preserved Mayan temple inside a cave near the train's path.

One government archeologist ruled out trying to change the train's path. He argued that the relics in the train's path could just be moved before the train was built. However, it is not going to be as simple as that, argued one environmentalist who has worked on the Caribbean coast for decades.

The caves along the Caribbean coast have reportedly provided treasures like Naia, the nearly complete skeleton of a young woman who died some 13,000 years ago.

According to environmentalist Urbina Bravo, the government is making decisions without the support of science and the backing of specialists. Lopez Obrador dismissed the criticisms as he said they were just acting on behalf of his political opponents.

Maya Train Project Did Not File Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)

Activists have warned that the Mexican president's pet projects have ignored environmentalists' warnings. This includes the Maya Train project, which cuts across northern Quinta Roo state and the Caribbean coast.

Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has issued a decree stating that priority government projects no longer needed any environmental impact statement (EIS). The decree noted that the government could cut down trees, excavate, and then submit an EIS later.

According to The Globe And Mail, Bravo and other environmentalists successfully challenged that in court. They previously won an injunction, stopping the jungle rail line between Cancun and Tulum.

However, authorities overcame that speed bump by immediately submitting a hastily-drafted EIS on May 19, which Mexico's Environment Department approved soon after.

The president invoked his national security powers to fast-track the construction. However, critics like Bravo have said it was a violation of the law. They fear that the railway line construction could do "irreversible damage to the jungle."

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Rick Martin

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