AMLO’s megaprojects remain in the spotlight. In addition to being overpriced and several of them not operating at 100% capacity, it has been reported that they have not raised the expected revenue.
And now, the complaints of the councilor of the municipality of Tulum, Quintana Roo, Eugenio Barbachano, have added to the complaints. He accused the Maya Train and the Tulum airport of having affected the town and failing to generate or return money to the country.
The complaints were made during the regular session of the Tulum City Council, where the councilor pointed out that the municipality was being affected by the lack of visitors, including a dispute at Jaguar Park, where the government-owned company Grupo Mundo Maya did not allow locals free access to the beaches.
From there, he moved on to the other two projects located in the region, noting that despite their significant investments, “they’re not working, they’re not attracting tourism, and they’re not generating well-being. That’s money all Mexicans pay, and these are issues no one wants to discuss,” he noted during the session.
He noted that although multimillion-dollar investments were made, these projects are failing to achieve their objectives and are declining.
“There are many challenges we have to work on as a community, raising our voices and saying thank you for bringing us the Mayan Train, thank you for investing in Jaguar Park, thank you for building an airport. We’ve always applauded and talked about it… But they’re not working! The numbers don’t lie,” he declared.
Losses in Megaprojects
According to the 2026 Federal Expenditure Budget Project, the Maya Train is estimated to generate around 1.271 billion pesos, and according to the media outlet El Financiero, this would not cover its operating expenses, which are estimated to amount to 2 billion pesos.
In turn, Reportur reported that the Maya Train reported revenues of 611.4 million pesos in the second quarter of 2025, while its expenses for the period exceeded 2.6 billion pesos.
Meanwhile, the Felipe Carrillo Puerto International Airport in Tulum has been struggling due to the closure of several foreign airlines, such as Air Canada and Avianca, which has led to a decrease in air connectivity of between 30% and 40%.
Source: politico
