Sheinbaum: AMLO increased debt to complete the Mayan Train

In a politically charged revelation, President Claudia Sheinbaum admitted that her predecessor, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, resorted to public debt in order to complete the Maya Train, one of the flagship projects of his administration.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum issued a statement confirming the opposition's suspicions and criticisms regarding the financial management of the previous administration's megaprojects. She acknowledged that the government of former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) had to take on public debt to ensure the completion of the Maya Train.

This admission is particularly significant because it reveals that the final cost of the project far exceeded the original budget, forcing the government to seek additional financing. According to Sheinbaum's statements, the cost of the Mayan Train was more than triple what was initially estimated.

The Maya Train, a project spanning more than 1,500 kilometers across the Yucatán Peninsula and states such as Tabasco and Chiapas, was one of AMLO's main promises. However, from the outset, it has been plagued by environmental, social, and, above all, financial controversies.

• Original Budget vs. Actual Cost: The project was announced with an estimated cost that was significantly exceeded. Sheinbaum's admission confirms that the final figure was at least three times higher.
• Recourse to Debt: The need to incur debt to complete the project contradicts the discourse of austerity and debt-free behavior that characterized the López Obrador administration.
• Implications for Tabasco: As a key state along the rail route and home to the Dos Bocas Refinery (another megaproject with cost overruns), Tabasco directly feels the economic and logistical implications of these financial decisions.

President Sheinbaum's statement has sparked a cascade of reactions in the political and economic spheres.

"President Claudia Sheinbaum asserted that former President López Obrador took on public debt to complete the Maya Train, because the project's cost was more than triple what was initially planned," El Heraldo de Tabasco reported.

Economic analysts point out that this debt, combined with debt from other projects, compromises the new government's public finances and could limit the room for maneuver for new social or infrastructure programs.

Opposition leaders, for their part, have described the revelation as evidence of the previous administration's "waste and poor planning" and are demanding a thorough audit of the total cost and management of the Maya Train's resources.

This admission by the president herself opens a new chapter in the debate over the legacy of the "Fourth Transformation" megaprojects, bringing to light the true cost that Mexicans will have to pay for these monumental projects.