Voters in Mexico have decided to stop the construction of a new airport
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Mexico - The residents of Mexico have decided in a controversial referendum that they want to stop the construction of an international airport for Mexico City, which is the largest infrastructure investment in the country in recent decades. Seventy percent of voters were in favor of stopping the construction, but the turnout was very low. Incoming President Andrés Manuel López Obrador stated that he would respect the outcome of the vote. The $13 billion project (295 billion CZK) is already one-third completed, reported the AP agency.
"The citizens' decision is democratic and rational," said López Obrador. "The people have decided," he added. What will happen to the construction already carried out at the site where the airport was to be built is unclear. Entrepreneurs had previously warned that halting the project could jeopardize the Mexican economy.
The referendum took place last week from Thursday to Sunday. It was only informal since López Obrador will not become president until December 1. However, the politician had already stated that he would respect the conclusions of the vote, as in a democracy, the voice of the people should be heard.
The voting faced criticism, among other things, due to the very low turnout - in a country of 129 million, only just over a million voters participated. However, the incoming president dismisses all criticism. As he stated, Mexicans will save about five billion dollars (114 billion CZK) by stepping back from the project. The most important thing, according to him, is that the halt of the project "will end corruption."
Construction of the new international airport near the city of Texcoco, about 30 kilometers from the center of Mexico City, began under the current government of President Enrique Peña Nieto in 2015. By September of this year, the project had closed around 470 contracts with companies, including those belonging to Mexico's richest man, Carlos Slim, noted the El País newspaper.
The new airport was intended to replace the current international airport, Benita Juárez, which is the busiest airport in Latin America. This airport, which transports about 42 million passengers a year, is surrounded by residential areas of the city and cannot be expanded any further.
Instead of building a new airport in the Texcoco area, incoming President López Obrador supports the renovation of the current Benita Juárez airport and the construction of a new airport on the site of a military airbase near the town of Santa Lucía, which is about 50 kilometers from the center of Mexico City.
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