No ‘firm’ plan for a Chinese auto plant in Mexico, says Sheinbaum: the mañanera recap

The Maya Train railroad and the security detail of former president Andrés Manuel López Obrador were among the issues discussed at President Claudia Sheinbaum’s Thursday morning press conference.

Here is a brief recap of the mañanera, as the president’s weekday presser is colloquially known.

´The Maya Train is a success’ 

“The Maya Train is a success; it’s functioning very well, and domestic and foreign tourists are using it,” Sheinbaum said after a reporter pointed out that the rail project has been described as a “failure” by media outlets.

Since the US $20 billion railroad (partially) opened in late 2023, passenger numbers have been lower than expected and operating costs have far exceeded revenue from ticket sales.

Nevertheless, Sheinbaum asserted that it’s “false” that the railroad has “problems.”

“The Maya Train is a success,” she reiterated.

Almost a year after passenger trains began running between Campeche and Cancún, however, the railroad is still not fully open.

Sheinbaum said that “the whole circuit” will be complete in December when the section between Chetumal, Quintana Roo, and Palenque, Chiapas, (via Escárcega, Campeche) opens.

The president described the railroad as a “national development project” and noted that preparations for its use by freight trains will commence next year.

‘There is no risk’ to AMLO’s life, says defense minister 

A reporter highlighted that the El Universal newspaper published a report on Thursday that said that the Defense Ministry (Defensa) has “reserved [classified] for five years information about the number and rank of soldiers that are providing protection to Mexico’s ex-president Andrés Manuel López Obrador on his ranch in Palenque, Chiapas.”

El Universal said that it was informed by Defensa that the declassification of aforesaid information could allow organized crime groups to “plan attacks against the former federal leader and the military personnel at his service.”

Defense Minister Ricardo Trevilla Trejo, one of several high-ranking officials that attended Sheinbaum’s Thursday morning press conference, confirmed that there is no current risk to the former president’s life.

“There is no risk, no threat, nothing like that,” he said.

Trevilla said that information about AMLO’s security detail could be used by “people who want to do damage” and for that reason it is classified.

“It’s a matter of security,” he said.

No certainty on Chinese auto plants in Mexico  

Chinese automakers including BYD, MG Motor and Chery have announced plans to open plants in Mexico.

But Sheinbaum said Thursday that there is no certainty that those plans will eventuate.

“There is not yet any firm investment project from any Chinese automotive company,” she said.

Jorge Guajardo, a former Mexican ambassador to China, told Mexico News Daily earlier this year that Chinese companies have “a long history of making investment announcements they don’t follow up on.”

By Mexico News Daily chief staff writer Peter Davies (peter.davies@mexiconewsdaily.com)