Suspension cannot be violated in section 5 of the Mayan train: lawyers

With the argument that it is “national security” work, the Mexican government has restarted work on section 5 of the Mayan train, between Playa del Carmen and Tulum, in Quintana Roo, despite the fact that There are two current protections that they have been granted by a judge so that construction stops until these are resolved.

The decision to restart construction was taken during yesterday’s session of the Security Council, said Javier May, head of Fonatur, the federal agency in charge of the works. “The interested parties are the Ministry of Public Security and the Interior, they have determined that the work be resumed. With this, no protection is violated since the Fund has not intervened,” he told the media.

However, the lawyers consulted by political animal They warned that, despite what the head of Fonatur said, no presidential decree or what is established in a Security Council is above what is dictated by a judge. For this reason, they pointed out, the authorities involved in the reactivation of the works could be committing a crime.

“If there is a suspension granted by a judge, it remains in effect until the judge himself modifies or revokes it. As long as neither of these two things happen, (Fonatur) continues to be obligated to respect the suspension”, explained Javier Martín Reyes, a constitutional lawyer, in an interview, who pointed out that a declaration of national security does not automatically imply that the judge’s suspension is without effect.

“As long as there is a decreed suspension, and that it has not remained without effect, the authorities are required to respect it. The argument of national security cannot be used to stop respecting this suspension,” acknowledged Mario de la Garza, also a lawyer.

De la Garza pointed out that the only way not to comply with a stay ordered by a judge “is to challenge it by going to a collegiate circuit court.”

“You can argue that the suspension was granted illegally and leave it without effect. But until you do, and especially until you have a sentence that proves you right and revokes the stay, you cannot use the argument of national security to no longer comply with a decision of justice, that is to say, clear,” he remarked.

political animal and other media contacted Fonatur asking if they could release the minutes of the Security Council in which the decision was made that the Mayan train is a work of national security. But in its response, the agency argued that the meetings as well as the minutes and documents generated during those sessions “are reserved.”

Last May, the Yucatan First District Court granted a stay of work on Section 5 of the Mayan Train, after a group of divers, cave and cenote spelunkers and civil environmental organizations filed two injunctions because the works on this stretch started without first having the Environmental Impact Statement (MIA).

The judge granted the injunctions and determined that until it is decided in a trial whether a final injunction is granted or work is restarted, the bulldozers must stop cutting trees and working in the area. .

However, since last Friday the 15th, activists and civil organizations such as Moce Yax Cuxtal They denounced that the machines were getting back to work, despite the injunctions granted by a judge.

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Jesus Alberto Guerrero, director of the National Organization for State Responsibility (ONRE)a civil association specializing in the representation of those affected by public policies or private actions, stressed that “in no case” can a declaration of national security be above the public and social interest.

“All the ecological standards, all of them, those of trees, groundwater or animals, say in their article 1 that they are of public order and of social interest. And national security cannot be above, so the amparo continues to have the effect of suspending work, whoever does it,” he said.

“What (the head of Fonatur) said is not correct at all. This national security decree cannot be above the ecological scheme, which is a fundamental human right, nor above all ecological regulations, which are of public order and social interest.

Similarly, the director of ONRE recalled that violating the suspension pronounced by a judge, whether provisional or definitive, “is an offence” which may lead to complaints before the General Prosecutor’s Office (FGR) against those who have flouted the suspension granted by the judge.

“This is a serious federal crime that can reach the head of the agencies involved. Whether or not you are part of the protection, if you are warned, you must comply,” he stressed.

On May 17, ONRE announced that another federal judge had accepted a class action lawsuit filed against five Mayan Train construction companies, which it claims began work on Section 5 without first having all permits. environmental requirements required by law.

The lawsuit was filed against Grupo México, the Spanish company Acciona and three other company names of the construction company ICA.

The lawsuit, which was admitted on May 13 by the Eighth District Court for Civil Matters in Mexico City, seeks initial damages for the works to the tune of $27 billion, which, in the event the court rules in favor of the ONRE, construction companies must pay.

Jesús Alberto Guerrero told this media that, for the moment, four of the five companies have already been notified of the complaint, and that once they have all received the notice, ONRE will expand the request and include a the Secretary of National Defense (Sedena), a federal agency that is also in charge of constructing part of the Section 5 work.

“The damage is going to have to be repaired in the civil sphere in order to recover the ecological aggression that they are carrying out,” said Guerrero, who clarified that since this is a collective lawsuit that they are carrying out, they are also empowered to prosecute public entities.

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Alvin Nguyen

"Amateur introvert. Pop culture trailblazer. Incurable bacon aficionado."

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