“San Miguel de Allende, being a World Heritage Site, is a small municipality that doesn’t allow for the kind of growth you get from other cities. We are small and limited in our growth, so we constantly have to look at which market niches, in this case tourism, we should focus on to maximize economic benefits. And cultural tourism is what we are aiming for. I insist, this isn’t about classism; it’s about economics and pure mathematics,” he stated.
This came in response to a question about his opinion on the intercity train, and he acknowledged his concern that the project could lead to an influx of migrants to the municipality.
“There are two issues to consider: the issue of mobility is going to be extremely important, because Highway 57 is no longer reliable. (…) Before you know it, you’ve been stuck on the highway for ten hours, or you might only get three. That can’t be happening. (…) But on the other hand, we’re going to have to work on this and do an analysis, (…) because it’s also another access point for migrants. (…) It’s another mode of transportation that passes through cities and allows them to choose where they stay,” he said.
He stated that he will discuss the issue with the Ministry of Security and Peace, the State and Federal Prosecutor’s Offices, and the Human Rights Commission.
He also expressed that in the hypothetical case that migrants decide to stay in San Miguel de Allende illegally, the municipality should help them continue their journey, and even though it’s not within the municipality’s jurisdiction, it should help them regularize their status.
“What are we going to do with them? Because in San Miguel de Allende, the jobs created are for the people of San Miguel. What will happen if we suddenly face very large influxes of immigrants? Working with Human Rights organizations, we have to help them; we are all brothers and sisters. So, these are the issues that will have to be discussed: the advantages of such a good interconnection as the train will be, but also the threats that may arise from it.”
Source: zonafranca
