Opposition senators condemned the derailment of the Interoceanic Train of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, a flagship project of former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s administration, inaugurated in December 2013. They questioned the project’s technical planning and its operation under military control.
The Mexican Navy (Semar) reported Sunday morning that a train car derailed near Nizanda, Oaxaca.
The accident occurred on Line Z of the Interoceanic Train, on the route connecting Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz, with Salina Cruz, Oaxaca. According to the Navy, 241 passengers and nine crew members were on board.
Semar also confirmed that 20 people were injured and received emergency medical attention before being transported to regional hospitals for further evaluation. Emergency and security protocols were activated to assist the passengers affected by the derailment of the main engine.
The Interoceanic Railway is part of the Interoceanic Corridor of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, a federal megaproject launched by the previous administration to spur economic development in the south-southeast of the country by connecting the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans via rail, as well as modernizing ports and creating industrial development hubs in Oaxaca and Veracruz. Since its inception, the project has been criticized for assigning its operation and administration to the Secretariat of the Navy, within a broader context of militarization of civilian infrastructure.
Opposition condemns derailment and questions its military operation
Following the derailment, the PRI coordinator in the Senate, Manuel Añorve, blamed former President López Obrador and Morena for the incident, arguing that the project was driven by political rather than technical criteria.
Through the social media platform X, the legislator stated: “The Interoceanic Train of the 4T (Fourth Transformation) has derailed again. A multi-million dollar project operated by the Navy (SEMAR), but designed with political haste by Morena (the ruling party). Marines are maritime security professionals, not natural railway operators. The responsibility lies with López Obrador, who militarized the infrastructure believing that this replaces technical planning. Improvisation has its price… and today it derailed.”
In the past, opposition legislators have warned that these types of incidents highlight risks to the physical safety of service users and underscore the State’s obligation to guarantee adequate safety, maintenance, and oversight of public works projects financed with federal funds.
The opposition announced that it will request detailed information on the causes of the accident, the state of the railway infrastructure and operating protocols, as well as the measures that will be implemented to prevent similar incidents from recurring.
“The Interoceanic Train has derailed in Nizanda, Oaxaca, that ‘flagship project’ of the disgraceful narco-president @lopezobrador_, into which billions of pesos have been poured,” warned PRI leader Alejandro Moreno.
He emphasized that the lives of 250 people were put at risk because of “an inept, brutish, and criminally irresponsible government!”
“There is no maintenance, no oversight, no seriousness. Only propaganda, corruption, and pure lies. That is Morena: an incapable regime that plays with the lives of the Mexican people,” he asserted.
He pointed out that this is the consequence of the “improvisation, negligence, and contempt with which they govern.” On behalf of the PRI, he also demanded a thorough investigation and punishment for those responsible. “We will not remain silent while they destroy the country!”
Source: politico
