By: Gilberto López y Rivas

Fernando Cortés de Brasdefer, noted archaeologist with a trajectory of more than 40 years as a research professor at the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH), currently attached to its regional center in Quintana Roo, has been the object of a singular campaign of discredit, workplace harassment, lifting of administrative records and threats of dismissal by state and central authorities of this institution, for expressing, in a chat with colleagues, his well-founded criticisms of the so-called Maya Train. These opinions were uploaded to social networks by third parties, which led to excessive repressive reactions, in which the Archaeology Council ultimately participated, with an unsigned statement. Since 1970, the Archaeology Council, has served as a consulting body to INAH’s national directors, lacking, of course, the legal abilities to normalize research into that ambit, and much less to apply sanctions, counterclaims or accusations to the researchers, who, correspond to the National Archaeology Coordination.

The paradox is that there is a record of a 2018 federal government statement, in which Cortés is presented as the discoverer of several archaeological sites in the Maya area in his long and meritorious career, and author of important books in renowned publishers, such as the Encyclopedia of Archaeology and Monuments of Quintana Roo, now described by the secret council as an inexperienced researcher who has carried out perhaps a couple of salvage interventions without reaching good terms.

For its part, the National Union of Professors of Scientific Research and Teaching of the INAH, in compliance with the agreement of its general assembly on August 15, made known to public opinion its energetic rejection and indignation at the attempt to dismiss the colleague and colleague Fernando Cortés de Brasdefer, as well as to demand that the general director of the institution cease hostilities against our colleague, the immediate withdrawal of the

On August 21, unionized INAH personnel in Chetumal, Quintana Roo, held a protest in support of the archaeologist who denounced the archaeological devastation caused by the work of the Maya Train, while, in various regional centers and offices of the institute in the country, they deployed support banners and carried out peaceful demonstrations for the same purpose.

On August 22, the Sélvame del Tren collective released a document in which its members sympathize with the archaeologist for his courage and his decision not to be an accomplice to the destruction that the mega-work misnamed the Mayan Train is causing, also pointing out that in our tours to document the environmental impact of the jungle and the aquifer, archaeologists expressed their rejection of this megaproject, because they needed more time to rescue all the richness of the elements found in this area that should be protected, as stipulated by law . In the face of anomalies, looting and violations of the law, archaeologists have been forced to remain silent for fear of losing their job or being persecuted like the archaeologist Fernando Cortés de Brasdefer. With his brave words, Cortés de Brasdefer has revealed that the INAH has become a cowardly cover organization for the disasters committed in the Maya jungle. Scientists, academics, activists, and divers involved in monitoring the destruction caused by the train in the Maya jungle have documented the destruction of vestiges and cenotes in videos, photos, and testimonies.

During these years, criticism of the mega-work has proliferated, based on the document Why we oppose the Maya Train, addressed to the President of the Republic, which on April 1, 2022 was disseminated and endorsed by hundreds of researchers from various disciplines and institutions. academics, as well as by organizations dedicated to the preservation of nature and territories.

Books have also been written, such as “Peoples and territory versus the Maya Train, coordinated by Giovanna Gasparello and Violeta Núñez Rodríguez, in which a frontal criticism is made of the rhetoric of progress, conflict engineering and the anthropology of social deterrence that accompany this high-impact mega-work, denouncing its destructive nature for the archaeological, historical, natural and social heritage, as well as the community disintegration of peoples and the commodification and reification of their culture.

Originally Published in Spanish by La Jornada, Thursday, August 31, 2023, https://www.jornada.com.mx/2023/08/31/opinion/019a1pol and Re-Published with English interpretation by the Chiapas Support Committee