Maya Council of Calakmul obtains provisional suspension of the Mayan Train Project in Mexico after denouncing simulation of the federal consultation
January
29, 2020
Mexico
City | Desinformémonos - The Mayan indigenous communities of Xpujil and Calakmu
in the state of Campeche, obtained on January 14 the provisional suspension of
the execution of the Mayan Train project in response to the request for
an Order of Protection that they filed “against the simulated consultation
process that was carried out in assemblies of supposedly informative and consultation
character with representatives of indigenous communities”, informed the Regional
Indigenous and Popular Council of Xpujil (CRIPX).
The
members of the Council and the Mayan communities explained that the demand for
Order of Protection was filed on January 6 to demand moratorium of “the
simulated and fraudulent indigenous consultation ordered by the Federal
Executive and executed to the detriment of the Indigenous Peoples of
Campeche, Yucatán, Quintana Roo, Tabasco and Chiapas ”, as well as the“ illegal
consultation and approval of the project called Mayan Train, whose action was
carried out in flagrant violation of our human right to guarantee a Prior,
Free, Informed, good faith and culturally appropriate consultation”.
They
added that the Order of Protection the First District Court in the state of
Campeche agreed to grant the provisional suspension “so that things remain unchanged
in the state they are in presently, that is, so that the responsible authorities
regardless of the outcome of the query made in relation to the so-called Mayan
Train, refrain from decreeing the approval of said project, or, having said
decree approved, refrain from performing acts tending to the execution of said
project ” until the issue of definitive suspension is resolved.
The
Mayan indigenous communities of Xpujil and Calakmul, in Campeche obtained on
January 14, 2020 the provisional suspension of the execution of the Mayan Train
in response to the request for an Order of Protection that they filed “against
the simulated consultation process that was carried out in assemblies of
supposedly informative and consultative character with representatives of
indigenous communities”, informed the Regional Indigenous and Popular
Council of Xpujil (CRIPX).
On
December 14 and 15, 2019, the federal government carried out a “consultation
process” in the five states through which the Mayan Train will cross to determine
if the population was in agreement, however, several indigenous communities and
national and international organizations denounced that the process did not
meet the standards of Convention 169 of the International Labor
Organization (ILO) and violated the right of Indigenous Peoples to Self-Determination
and to be consulted in a Free, Prior, Informed, culturally appropriate manner and
good manner faith.
Here
is the full statement:
Indigenous
communities belonging to the Peninsular and Ch´ol Maya people, residing in
Xpujil, Calakmul, Campeche, members of the Indigenous and Popular Regional
Council of Xpujil (CRIPX), obtained on January 14, 2020 from the Judicial
Branch of the Federation the provisional suspension of the execution of the
Mayan Train project, in response to a request for Order of Protection that
we filed against the simulated consultation process that was carried out
in assemblies supposedly of informative and consultative character with
representatives of indigenous communities, in order to obtain the approval of
the community for the Mayan Train project in our territories.
The
request for an Order of Protection filed on January 6, 2020, claims “the simulated
and fraudulent indigenous consultation ordered by the Federal Executive
and executed to the detriment of the Indigenous Peoples of Campeche, Yucatán,
Quintana Roo, Tabasco and Chiapas”, as well as the “ Illegal consultation and
approval of the project called Mayan Train, whose action was carried out in
flagrant violation of our human right to guarantee a Prior, Free, Informed,
good faith and culturally appropriate consultation”.
In
the legal application for the Order of Protection, the President of the
Republic of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO), is designated as the
principal responsible authority, as well as the Director of the National
Fund for Tourism Promotion (Fonatur), Rogelio Jiménez Pons, the Secretary
of the Interior, Olga Sánchez Cordero, and to the General Director of the National
Institute of Indigenous Peoples (INPI), Adelfo Regino Montes.
In
the present demand for Order of Protection, we denounce that the consultation
process was carried out without complying with the international standards
established by Convention 169 on Indigenous and Tribal Peoples in
Independent Countries, of the International Labor Organization
(ILO), to which the Mexican State is a party, as well as in contravention of
relevant determinations of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights
(IACHR).
The
government consultation did not fulfill the character of being neither informative
nor prior, as we did not receive detailed information in advance, nor was our
right to participation respected since the structure of the forums during the
alleged information phase (dated November 30, 2019) was designed and
implemented unilaterally, so that its forms and modularities were not
consistent with our forms of community deliberation and agreement. Likewise,
before the simulated consultation, the approval of the project had already been
announced by government officials, including President AMLO, through various
public channels.
The
simulated consultation was also not carried out in good faith and was not
culturally appropriate, since electoral ballots were distributed to be
deposited in polling stations by way of individual voting, without taking into
account the traditional forms of organization and decision-making of the
community.
Before
these elements previously presented in the request for Order of Protection, the
First District Court in the state of Campeche, agreed to grant the provisional
suspension so that things remain unchanged in the state they are in presently,
that is, so that the responsible authorities regardless of the outcome of the
query made in relation to the so-called Mayan Train, refrain from decreeing the
approval of said project, or, having said decree approved, refrain from
performing acts tending to the execution of said project until the issue of
definitive suspension is resolved.
The
indigenous communities of the Peninsular and Ch´ol Maya people, residing in
Xpujil, are heartened by this court decision and call on the rest of the Indigenous
Peoples in the states of the Republic affected by the Mayan Train, to pursue
until legal exhaustion the jurisdictional route to defend their right to a true
consultation, to the integrity of their lands and territories, and to autonomy
and self-determination.
We
will continue working on our legal defense actions, as well as at the
organizational level, carrying out community assemblies in which we provide
information related to the defense of the territory. Likewise, we shall continue
to establish alliances with different academic sectors, researchers, social
organizations and the National Assembly of the National Indigenous
Congress (CNI) to be held on March 27 and 28 in Xpujil.
###
Mayan Train in Mexico:
Manipulated Consultation
No comments:
Post a Comment