Mexico’s Supreme Court rules tourist train, other projects are not issues of national security

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico’s Supreme Court has ruled the government cannot simply decree that tourist trains or other public work projects are issues of “national security,” because that violates the public’s right to information. The ruling Thursday is the latest in a string of setbacks for President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who has sought to broaden the discretionary powers of the presidency. López Obrador has tried to rush through his Maya Train tourism project by exempting it from normal permitting and public reporting, and claiming it is vital to national security. It is unclear whether Thursday’s ruling only affects the public’s right to get information, or whether it also repeals the fast-track permitting process.