Infrastructure projects do mean progress and development, according to the official discourse. Yet the Tren "Maya” project only appears at first glance to be a harmless project of the Mexican government: the new route is to connect five federal states over a distance of more than 1,500 kilometres. Politicians and companies promise jobs, an increase in tourism and even the road to modernity. In reality, the mega-project means the destruction of the last rainforests in southern Mexico, disregard for the rights of the indigenous population, land grabbing and displacement as well as additional militarisation in one of the most conflict-ridden regions of the country. On the other hand, a few are hoping for big profits and are pushing ahead with the realisation of the Tren "Maya”.
German capital and German companies are also involved in the planning, construction and commissioning. The research takes the journey of the Zapatistas* and the CNI* through Europe as an opportunity to describe the consequences of the project, to show the involvement of DB Consulting & Engineering, the interest of Siemens and TÜV Rheinland as well as the connection to German arms companies. At the end, the report concludes with the presentation of the resistance against the project and an interview with Dr. Sergio P. Díaz, who as a researcher at the University of Campeche has been observing the project on the ground for years and investigating its geopolitical dimension.
He emphasises: “The biggest mistake is to see the 'Maya' train only as a train.”

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