As Mexico Builds Green Airport of the Future, Age-Old Mistakes Loom
- 7 years ago
As Mexico Builds Green Airport of the Future, Age-Old Mistakes Loom
Last year, eager to head off any local opposition, the federal government transferred 500 acres wedged between two of the planned reservoirs
to the city government of Chimalhuacán, which is controlled by a social movement called Antorcha Campesina, or Peasant Torch.
18, 2017
CHIMALHUACÁN, Mexico — On the flat salt basin that was once the Aztecs’ great Lake Texcoco, Mexico is building
its "door to the world," an enormous airport the government vows will exist in harmony with the environment.
The airport reflects Mr. Peña Nieto’s aspirations of turning Mexico City into a travel hub for the Americas,
and, as he enters his final year in office, it is also part of his effort to establish a legacy.
Though project maps show the land had been designated for habitat conservation and flood management, the commission, responding to questions from The New York Times, said
that the area had never been included in the original flood control project.
The local group has a symbiotic relationship with Mr. Peña Nieto’s Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, delivering votes at election time
and acting, often aggressively, as a ground operation for the party, said Neptalí Monterroso, a professor of political science at the Autonomous University of the State of Mexico.
But soon after construction started in 2015, the government appeared to turn its back on part of
that promise, ceding land designated on project maps for conservation to local officials for development.
Last year, eager to head off any local opposition, the federal government transferred 500 acres wedged between two of the planned reservoirs
to the city government of Chimalhuacán, which is controlled by a social movement called Antorcha Campesina, or Peasant Torch.
18, 2017
CHIMALHUACÁN, Mexico — On the flat salt basin that was once the Aztecs’ great Lake Texcoco, Mexico is building
its "door to the world," an enormous airport the government vows will exist in harmony with the environment.
The airport reflects Mr. Peña Nieto’s aspirations of turning Mexico City into a travel hub for the Americas,
and, as he enters his final year in office, it is also part of his effort to establish a legacy.
Though project maps show the land had been designated for habitat conservation and flood management, the commission, responding to questions from The New York Times, said
that the area had never been included in the original flood control project.
The local group has a symbiotic relationship with Mr. Peña Nieto’s Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, delivering votes at election time
and acting, often aggressively, as a ground operation for the party, said Neptalí Monterroso, a professor of political science at the Autonomous University of the State of Mexico.
But soon after construction started in 2015, the government appeared to turn its back on part of
that promise, ceding land designated on project maps for conservation to local officials for development.