Tragic Train Derailment in Mexico Impacts Key Rail Development
A tragic train derailment in southern Mexico has left 13 people dead and dozens injured, presenting President Claudia Sheinbaum with a significant challenge to ensure accountability within her government.
The incident occurred on a major rail line that had been revamped and is operated by the Navy, part of a government initiative aimed at enhancing cargo and passenger transit. This project was a key focus for former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO), who is both Sheinbaum’s predecessor and mentor.
In a press conference on Monday, Sheinbaum emphasized that her primary concern is the well-being of the victims. She pledged to investigate the causes of the derailment and plans to visit the area to meet with survivors, with 44 individuals still hospitalized.
“We must conduct a rigorous analysis of what happened,” she stated during her regular morning briefing.
Social media footage from the aftermath of the derailment depicted overturned train cars, with part of the train precariously hanging off a mountain turn.
The incident raises questions about the Navy’s role, as it operates the Interoceanic Train of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, which connects Mexico’s Pacific and Gulf coasts. This cargo and passenger rail line is a flagship project of Sheinbaum’s Morena party, intended to stimulate economic development in the country’s poorer southern regions.
AMLO had championed this initiative to attract cargo shipping business away from the Panama Canal.
Navy and transport officials reported that the 250-passenger train derailed in Oaxaca’s Asunción Ixtaltepec municipality. AMLO had assigned the Navy the responsibility of constructing and operating this revamped rail project, which was built on an existing route. This expanded the military’s role to include managing ports, airports, and a separate tourist rail project known as the Maya Train.
Sheinbaum has directed the rail transport agency and the Attorney General’s Office to collaborate on the investigation into the derailment.
This accident is the latest setback for the Navy, which is currently facing scrutiny over allegations of corruption linked to a large-scale fuel smuggling scandal. In recent months, Sheinbaum has been working to combat these smuggling operations and recover significant quantities of stolen gasoline and diesel. A senior Navy admiral has been arrested in connection with the ongoing investigation, and her former attorney general was replaced last month by Ernestina Godoy, a close ally of Sheinbaum, who is now overseeing the probe.
Completing the train projects initiated by AMLO and constructing new lines has been a top priority for Sheinbaum. She also aims to address the substantial budget deficit she inherited. Next year, nine new railway projects will receive a budget of 105 billion pesos (approximately $1.3 billion), while the Interoceanic project will be allocated around 25 billion pesos for its operations.
AMLO’s Family
The deadly accident not only provides ammunition for Sheinbaum’s political opponents but also places her in a difficult position regarding AMLO’s family. One of AMLO’s sons, Gonzalo López Beltrán, was appointed by his father as an informal adviser to the Interoceanic rail project, despite lacking experience in train transport.
“Gonzalo is not involved in politics. He has helped as an honorary adviser on the Interoceanic project, but he does not get paid and he is not going to work in the government,” AMLO stated in 2024, shortly before leaving office.
Another son, Andrés López Beltrán, is a prominent leader within the Morena party. Local media have accused him of facilitating contracts for friends in railway projects, although he has denied these allegations.
The Oaxaca derailment is not the first deadly rail accident during Morena’s administration. In 2021, while Sheinbaum was mayor of Mexico City, an elevated section of the subway collapsed, resulting in two dozen deaths and nearly 100 injuries. Investigations later attributed the disaster to faulty welding and inadequate inspections and maintenance.
This subway disaster intensified scrutiny over public infrastructure oversight during Sheinbaum’s tenure as mayor. Opposition parties, including the conservative National Action Party (PAN), blamed the collapse on corruption and negligence, citing cost overruns and construction deficiencies. They also criticized Marcelo Ebrard, another former mayor of the capital and current economy minister.
Adding to the controversy, the head of the centrist Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) pointed to an audio recording released last year by the investigative news outlet Latinus, in which a nephew of AMLO discussed the potential for the Maya Train to derail due to rushed construction.
PRI President Alejandro Moreno attributed the latest rail tragedy to “corruption covered up by Morena” in a social media post.
“It’s clear what happens when Morena’s criminal corruption governs: the people of Mexico pay with their lives,” Moreno wrote.
Photograph: Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum; photo credit: Stephania Corpi Arnaud/Bloomberg
Topics
Mexico
A tragic train derailment in southern Mexico has left 13 people dead and dozens injured, presenting President Claudia Sheinbaum with a significant challenge to ensure accountability within her government.
The incident occurred on a major rail line that had been revamped and is operated by the Navy, part of a government initiative aimed at enhancing cargo and passenger transit. This project was a key focus for former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO), who is both Sheinbaum’s predecessor and mentor.
In a press conference on Monday, Sheinbaum emphasized that her primary concern is the well-being of the victims. She pledged to investigate the causes of the derailment and plans to visit the area to meet with survivors, with 44 individuals still hospitalized.
“We must conduct a rigorous analysis of what happened,” she stated during her regular morning briefing.
Social media footage from the aftermath of the derailment depicted overturned train cars, with part of the train precariously hanging off a mountain turn.
The incident raises questions about the Navy’s role, as it operates the Interoceanic Train of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, which connects Mexico’s Pacific and Gulf coasts. This cargo and passenger rail line is a flagship project of Sheinbaum’s Morena party, intended to stimulate economic development in the country’s poorer southern regions.
AMLO had championed this initiative to attract cargo shipping business away from the Panama Canal.
Navy and transport officials reported that the 250-passenger train derailed in Oaxaca’s Asunción Ixtaltepec municipality. AMLO had assigned the Navy the responsibility of constructing and operating this revamped rail project, which was built on an existing route. This expanded the military’s role to include managing ports, airports, and a separate tourist rail project known as the Maya Train.
Sheinbaum has directed the rail transport agency and the Attorney General’s Office to collaborate on the investigation into the derailment.
This accident is the latest setback for the Navy, which is currently facing scrutiny over allegations of corruption linked to a large-scale fuel smuggling scandal. In recent months, Sheinbaum has been working to combat these smuggling operations and recover significant quantities of stolen gasoline and diesel. A senior Navy admiral has been arrested in connection with the ongoing investigation, and her former attorney general was replaced last month by Ernestina Godoy, a close ally of Sheinbaum, who is now overseeing the probe.
Completing the train projects initiated by AMLO and constructing new lines has been a top priority for Sheinbaum. She also aims to address the substantial budget deficit she inherited. Next year, nine new railway projects will receive a budget of 105 billion pesos (approximately $1.3 billion), while the Interoceanic project will be allocated around 25 billion pesos for its operations.
AMLO’s Family
The deadly accident not only provides ammunition for Sheinbaum’s political opponents but also places her in a difficult position regarding AMLO’s family. One of AMLO’s sons, Gonzalo López Beltrán, was appointed by his father as an informal adviser to the Interoceanic rail project, despite lacking experience in train transport.
“Gonzalo is not involved in politics. He has helped as an honorary adviser on the Interoceanic project, but he does not get paid and he is not going to work in the government,” AMLO stated in 2024, shortly before leaving office.
Another son, Andrés López Beltrán, is a prominent leader within the Morena party. Local media have accused him of facilitating contracts for friends in railway projects, although he has denied these allegations.
The Oaxaca derailment is not the first deadly rail accident during Morena’s administration. In 2021, while Sheinbaum was mayor of Mexico City, an elevated section of the subway collapsed, resulting in two dozen deaths and nearly 100 injuries. Investigations later attributed the disaster to faulty welding and inadequate inspections and maintenance.
This subway disaster intensified scrutiny over public infrastructure oversight during Sheinbaum’s tenure as mayor. Opposition parties, including the conservative National Action Party (PAN), blamed the collapse on corruption and negligence, citing cost overruns and construction deficiencies. They also criticized Marcelo Ebrard, another former mayor of the capital and current economy minister.
Adding to the controversy, the head of the centrist Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) pointed to an audio recording released last year by the investigative news outlet Latinus, in which a nephew of AMLO discussed the potential for the Maya Train to derail due to rushed construction.
PRI President Alejandro Moreno attributed the latest rail tragedy to “corruption covered up by Morena” in a social media post.
“It’s clear what happens when Morena’s criminal corruption governs: the people of Mexico pay with their lives,” Moreno wrote.
Photograph: Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum; photo credit: Stephania Corpi Arnaud/Bloomberg
Topics
Mexico
