Chamber of Deputies

Mexico City. The Chamber of Deputies today approved the reform to article 28 of the Constitution through which the use of railways for passenger transport will be promoted, and although the initiative received the endorsement of all parliamentary groups, the opposition demanded that the next railway routes railway are built without repeating the cost overruns and damage to the environment that, they accused, the Mayan Train involved.

After a debate that lasted six hours, the project was approved unanimously with 472 votes in favor. Although a total of 135 reservations were presented to the ruling, voiced by 38 speakers, none of the opposition parties’ statements were accepted for discussion, while those of Morena and its allies withdrew them.

In a meeting with the media, prior to the session, the coordinator of the cherry bench in San Lázaro, Ricardo Monreal, welcomed that the initiative “recovers the leadership of the State in matters of rail transport and privileges passenger transport”, after that in the 90s the “neoliberal” governments privatized the railways and these were used only for loading goods.

“What this minute contains is to recover the legal capacity of the State to provide the public passenger train service, and also the State could grant or concession to those who currently have the transportation concession to also provide the passenger train service. ”he explained.

When taking the stand to argue in favor of the reform, Jorge Armando Ortiz (PT) recalled that the national railways “were privatized by Ernesto Zedillo, who began this process, and by Vicente Fox, who completed it. “Prianist presidents sell their homelands, who handed over this nation’s heritage to foreign companies, and who, as former presidents, their mark of pride was being employees of these transnational companies.”

Likewise, the deputies in favor of the initiative highlighted that, by promoting the train as a means of passenger transportation, traffic on the roads and airplanes will be relieved; The regional development of the towns and communities through which the railway passes will be promoted, and there will be a sustainable and less polluting mobility option.

On the opposition side, although it was announced that their vote would be in favor of the reform, it was also demanded that the new railway projects be carried out with transparency and care for the environment, in addition to guaranteeing the safety of passengers. against organized crime.

Accompanied by other legislators from his bench who were holding photos of jungle areas cut down for the construction of the Mayan Train, PAN member José Manuel Hinojosa denounced that this project generated “ecocide” in the regions where it happened, in addition to “work contracts under of corruption and nepotism.”

The blue and white is not against passenger trains, he clarified, but “we are very concerned that they are now talking about seven new passenger train routes, because if we have learned anything in the last six years, it is that each Q4 proposal It comes with a trap, corruption, opacity, and will surely remain unfinished or useless, like the Felipe Ángeles International Airport or the Dos Bocas refinery.”

Hinojosa stressed that the PAN would vote in favor of the initiative, but announced that they would present reservations – none of which were accepted – so that the operation and safety of passenger trains would be guaranteed, as well as their budgetary viability, and the opinion would be heard. of specialists in environmental issues.

The coordinator of the PRI bench, Rubén Moreira, questioned “where the budget is going to come from for all this that was said to be done,” and warned that, if this railway project is carried out, the country’s debt could reach even at 2 billion pesos.

Due to the above, it presented a reservation so that businessmen who currently have freight train service concessions are obliged to provide passenger transportation service, “giving priority to populations that live in isolated communities and do not have another means of transportation.” public transport”. The proposal, however, was rejected.

For their part, Sergio Gil and Hugo Luna (MC) stressed that voting in favor of the reform did not imply handing a “blank check” to the federal government, which is why they demanded that passenger trains consider the investment of private initiative. through concessions to individuals, and that they do not become “pharaonic projects, full of frivolity, ecocide and opacity.”

After being approved in San Lázaro, the reform was sent to the Senate to be ratified.

Mexico City. The different political parties of the Chamber of Deputies today remembered the massacre of October 2, 1968 – whose 56th anniversary is commemorated this Wednesday – and while the opposition took advantage of the event to mention the risks involved in “authoritarian and omnipotent” governments. ”, Morena and its allies pointed out that currently young people are no longer repressed, but supported, and proposed removing the name of Gustavo Díaz Ordaz and Luis Echeverría from streets and schools.

When taking the stand to establish the PRI’s position, Congresswoman Fuensanta Guerrero highlighted the importance of “not losing sight of the lessons that our history has taught us,” and stressed that “the night of Tlatelolco left a deep wound as a result of the violence and repression.”

What happened in the Plaza of the Three Cultures, he said, was “one of the worst acts of repression, which not only sought to silence the voices of those who were fighting for a better country, but also tried to instill fear in the hearts of families. of Mexico.”

It was in this context where the legislator pointed out that “today, in a country where there are airs of authoritarianism, repression and injustice, the memory of those who lost their lives in Tlatelolco should not be in vain. (…) Never again will a country have an omnipotent presidency, where the balance of power deteriorates due to the will of a single man and where institutions are used to repress society.”

Immediately, PT member Lilia Aguilar responded that “it must be very difficult to get on this platform representing the PRI to talk about the massacre committed by Gustavo Díaz Ordaz and Luis Echeverría Álvarez. “You have to have a certain nerve to talk about ‘airs of authoritarianism’ when Díaz Ordaz said he felt ‘particularly proud’ that October 2 had allowed him to serve and save the country.”

In the same tone, he took the opportunity to emphasize that in the PRI governments, “when the bullets were real,” the Army and other repressive bodies attacked the people. “We are not equal, we will not disappear anyone, nor will we torture, nor will we order massacres. When the PRI comes here to say that the National Guard has represented militarization, it is because that is what they would do.”

Aguilar emphasized: “We must honor the memory of these students and remind the young people of this country that we live in different times because we have evolved in democracy thanks to left-wing and progressive movements that have been led in this country by former president Andrés Manuel López. Obrador and many who are in the Chamber of Deputies today”

However, the PAN member Daniel Chimal García once again took the anniversary of October 2, 1968 to refer to the current situation in the country and criticize the Morenoist governments.

What happened 56 years ago, he said, “reminds us how dangerous it is that power is held by a few hands without republican counterweights, without strong institutions of justice and human rights, and governments only thirsting for revenge.”

October 2, he pointed out, “reminds us of the thin line that the Army walks when it is entrusted with tasks against a civilian population. What would those young people of ’68 say when they saw the way in which the militarization of this country is being plotted, what would those young people say when they saw that this government, supposedly leftist, entrenches itself and builds walls in the face of the protests of young university students? That is the historical incongruity of Morena.”

The students who demonstrated in recent weeks against the reform of the Judiciary, he said, “raised their voices to warn about the dangers of a regime that is concentrating power and building a new hyper-presidentialism.”

The response of the cherry bench was in charge of Arturo Roberto Hernández Tapia, who pointed out that, unlike what happened in the “despotic, authoritarian and criminal” government of Díaz Ordaz, the administration of López Obrador elevated the support to constitutional rank to young people who did not have access to employment or formal study.

“The social, economic and democratic development of a nation is not possible without the participation and recognition of its youth, who instead of abuses, repression and violence from the neoliberal PRI and PAN governments, currently receive support, scholarships, accompaniment, freedoms , access to education and work.

“Without a doubt, today the Mexican reality is different, and we owe a lot of that to the student movement of ’68 (…) and it is the historical watershed of the Fourth Transformation, since it marked the beginning of the citizen struggle against repression, corruption and the despotism of neoliberal governments,” he stressed.

In this context, he welcomed the fact that President Claudia Sheinbaum ordered that the Mexican State issue a public apology for the Tlatelolco massacre, which means an “unprecedented gesture,” and urged “in a personal capacity” the three levels of government to eliminate the names of Gustavo Díaz Ordaz and Luis Echeverría Álvarez from the nomenclature of schools, streets and public institutions.