Adán Augusto López, Secretary of the Interior, Defended the appointment of Javier May Rodríguez as general director of the National Fund for Tourism Development (Fonatur), the institution in charge of the Mayan Train, saying that you don’t need to be a railway engineer to coordinate the work on the mega-project.
After being told that May Rodríguez had no experience in construction of works, the interior secretary stressed that he is a politician who has had a long career in the municipal and state public administration.
He presumed that he has twice been municipal president – of Comalcalco, Tabasco, from 2007 to 2009, and then from 2016 to 2018 – and that he has also been a local deputy and senator of the Republic, becoming “the most voted senator in the history of the state.”
To better understand: AMLO announces changes in secretariat of Welfare, Fonatur and AICM
“He is an experienced politician, but he is also an efficient and honest administrator, that the president has commissioned him to coordinate the work of the Mayan Train is a pride for all, you don’t need to be a railroad engineer to coordinate construction and design work“He said at the presidential press conference.
Adán Augusto López said that what is needed is have ability and work honestly, since this allows the efforts of the technical areas to be coordinated, aimed at working on a project such as the Mayan Train.
When asked if the appointment of Javier May would not increase the cost of the mega-project, the secretary replied that “in a project like this” there will always be downward or upward adjustments, depending on external factors.
“Big projects like these involve a day-to-day review of everything, not just the design of the executive project, but the way things are being executed.”
See also: AMLO’s decree would allow the Army to start last sections of the Mayan Train without environmental permits
The secretary said that May Rodríguez’s work will focus on coordinating the work so that the Mayan Train continues with its planning, construction and operation process in all the southeastern states of the country.
It will also coordinate the efforts of the federal government and maintain communication with private investors of the construction companies, while attending to “the whole social issue” that a public investment of the magnitude of the Mayan Train entails in the regions where it is being built.
“Javier is an experienced politician, he is an honest comrade, an efficient public servant who has been collaborating since he was very young with this movement, he is an asset of this movement and has given results,” he said.
In addition, he reported that President Andrés Manuel López Obrador asked public officials and executives to “make an effort” so that large national projects, such as the Mayan Train, the Santa Lucía Airport and the Dos Bocas refinery, can come to fruition.
Adán Augusto reported that for this reason, several agencies are contributing with Fonatur, such as the Ministry of Tourism (Sedatu), the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (Sedema); the National Electoral Institute (INE), the Ministry of the Interior, the Secretariat of National Defense (Sedena) and the Secretariat of the Navy.
Read more: Army will receive all the profits from the Mayan Train, they will not go to hacienda, says Fonatur
Javier May Rodríguez was one of the officials who were part of the cabinet change that was announced on Tuesday, decided by López Obrador.
He served as Secretary of Welfare since September 2, 2020 and was previously Undersecretary of Planning, Evaluation and Regional Development in the same agency, where he was in charge of the Sembrando Vida program.
With this change, Rogelio Jiménez Pons, who previously headed Fonatur and therefore the Mayan Train project, will become the new Undersecretary of Transport of the Secretariat of Infrastructure, Communications and Transport (SICT).
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