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(MEXICO) – Mexico's elected president said on Monday he would respect the referendum result that rejected a new, partially-built airport in Mexico City, putting an end to the $ 13 billion project.
"The decision made by citizens is democratic, rational and effective," said Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, after 70 percent of voters voted against the plan. "People have decided."
We do not know what will be done with the enormous foundations already built on the site, an old lake bed called Texcoco.
The organizers of the referendum said Sunday night that a little over a million people had voted in the referendum. The vote was criticized in part because only about one out of every 90 registered Mexican voters participated.
The Mexican peso slid more than 3% against the US dollar after the decision was released, with the interbank rate ending at 20.06 pesos to 1 US dollar. Banco BASE said it was the biggest drop in a day since November 9, 2016, when markets reacted to Donald Trump's election as president of the country's eve. The fall of Monday canceled all the gains of the peso this year.
The IPC index of the Mexican stock market closed the day down 4.2%. Critics of the cancellation had said that this could affect investor confidence in Mexico, but Lopez Obrador said investors, creditors and contractors of the abandoned project would be protected.
During his campaign, Lopez Obrador pledged to cancel the Texcoco project, saying it was tainted by excessive spending and corruption. After his victory, he said the issue should be submitted to Mexican citizens.
He is in favor of adding two commercial tracks to a military air base located in the city of Santa Lucia, about 45 km from the capital. This would involve an improved route to get there from Mexico City and the current airport of the 1940s. The city's airport is now operating at almost full capacity and would have been closed if Texcoco had been built.
Lopez Obrador said that he had received the assurance of international experts that the current airport and Santa Lucia could operate simultaneously. Nevertheless, given the distances between the current airport, the future Santa Lucia terminal and an existing satellite airport in nearby Toluca, it is unclear how people could make connecting flights in a timely manner.
The president-elect said the Mexicans would save about $ 5 billion by abandoning the unfinished Texcoco project, which was launched with what critics termed as little environmental study by current president Enrique Pena Nieto, who is leaving his functions on December 1st.
Pena Nieto said Monday later that his government was honoring the decision that Lopez Obrador could once take over president, but construction will continue until November 30, in order to meet obligations arising from bonds issued to fund the project.
He warned that if the airport was canceled, it could be costly for taxpayers. "It is expected that, ultimately, bonds issued to fund this project will have to be paid in advance, which will likely require additional tax resources compared to" funds currently being raised through a program. airport tax, he said.
It was supposed to be the signature infrastructure project of the Pena Nieto administration, even though it would not have been completed for several years. However, the outgoing administration was marked by corruption and insider trading allegations with subcontractors, which helped propel Lopez Obrador to the presidency on 1 July.
The referendum held Thursday-Sunday marked the first time that a project of such magnitude was subject to public debate and a vote. Lopez Obrador said the decision meant that "the corruption is over".
The Mexican business community, which overwhelmingly supported the canceled project, questioned the referendum, which they described as unofficial, unrepresentative and biased.
Juan Pablo Castanon, president of Mexico's Business Coordinating Council, strongly criticized Lopez Obrador's decision to obey the vote, saying it "seriously undermines Mexico's image in the world." "and" sends a message of uncertainty "to the financial markets.
Some wondered whether such a decision, involving complex air traffic control problems, should be taken by referendum. The National Confederation of Chambers of Commerce has written that "it should be a technical decision and financial and not political, based on a popular vote".
Lopez Obrador described the decision as "triumph of the environmental movement", saying that the Texcoco project threatened to eliminate the last vestiges of the lakes that once covered the valley of Mexico. Lake Nabor Carrillo had become a refuge for migratory birds, but was too close to the Texcoco site and reportedly threatened the birds with hitting the reactors.
However, much of the destruction of the environment associated with the Texcoco project is already complete. Millions of tons of rock were mined in nearby towns and transported to the site to fill and drain the old lake's swamp bed.
Lopez Obrador said he hoped the unfinished site could be used to create "a great sports and ecological center for Mexico City".
