Press "Enter" to skip to content

Over 2,000 sugar cane cutters now work Maya Train leaving harvests behind

Costa Maya, Q.R. — More than 2,000 former sugar cane cutters are now Maya Train workers. In recent months, the cutters have opted for Maya Train construction jobs as the project progresses in the south.

The progress of the train has generated a shortage of cane cutters in Costa Maya. Carmen Garcia Guevara, Othón P. Blanco Councilor, said the cutters have gone looking for better jobs, which has created a shortage of cane workers.

Garcia Guevara says sugar cane producers in the south have been forced to look for cutters in Oaxaca and Chiapas as well as manage more machinery in order to keep up with harvest demands.

“The work of the Maya Train affects us. I am from a cane producing family and this year, the lack of labor for cane cutters has been complicated. We have always had workers but this year, land owners have had to go to Chiapas and Oaxaca to hire workers,” she said.

She said that there are approximately 200 sugarcane cutters per community in Quintana Roo’s south who have chosen to work on the Maya Train since the salaries offered are much higher than the money they receive in sugarcane production.

There are more than 10 communities in the Costa Maya region who produce sugar cane. Garcia Guevara says all of them have been affected by the Maya Train project, which is why, the Councilor says support is expected from the state government to help acquire more machinery and cane cutters.