López Obrador expropriates railway section owned by Mexico's second richest businessman

The president of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, expropriated a railway section in Veracruz which was managed by Ferrous, subsidiary of Mexico Group, a company belonging to the second richest businessman in Mexico, German Larrea.

This Friday, armed personnel from the Ministry of the Navy occupied the Ferrosur facilities in the 120-kilometer stretch that goes from Coatzacoalcos to Medias Aguas in a "surprising and unusual" manner, explained the press Mexican, and were transferred to the government entity Tehuantepec Isthmus Railway.

And decree signed by López Obrador recognized and declared railway facilities, airports and ports in the Mexican southeast as "strategic, priority, of public interest and national security."

It includes the facilities of the Mayan Train, the Interoceanic Corridor of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec and the international airports of Palenque, Chiapas and Chetumal and Tulum in Quintana Roo.

At his press conference morning Last Friday, the president argued that the decision seeks to convert these works into national security actions because "those who are promoting the protections against them receive financing from the United States government and we can prove that."

However, the Secretary of the Interior, Adam Augusto Lopez, said that the occupation is temporary and rejected the classification of the intervention of three connections or sections of Ferrosur as expropriation, in line with López's promise at the beginning of his government to not confiscate or expropriate property in the country.

The expropiation has caused a 4.2% drop in the value of Grupo México on the Mexican Stock Exchange and takes place in a context where Germán Larrea's conglomerate has been in exclusive conversation with the banking group Citigroup to buy the retail operation of the Mexican bank Banamex , after this company declared bankruptcy.

Last week the businessman held several meetings with López Obrador regarding the purchase of the bank and was seen leaving the National Palace.

According to the press, the president was upset with Larrea for refusing to give up the section for the route of the Maya Trends.

Although only 120 of the 1,500 kilometers that make up the railway were taken, the action could generate negative effects on confidence to invest in the country.

The expropriation also occurs within the framework of the conflict that the president maintains with the Supreme Court, which demanded that the government not hide information about the government's priority works, such as the Mayan Train, under the argument that they are projects that impact national security. .

The Cuban regime, as part of the agreements it maintains with the AMLO government, exports rajón stone to Mexico for the construction of the controversial Mayan Train, whose detractors have denounced the environmental impact caused by the destruction of the jungle, the impact of cenotes and the modification of ecosystems due to the project's route changes.