Mexico leader defiant after high court rules tourist train, other works not national security issues

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico’s Supreme Court says the government cannot simply decree tourist trains or other public work projects matters of “national security.” Hours after Thursday’s ruling, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador published a similar order in defiance of the ruling. The ruling is the latest in a string of setbacks for the president, who has sought to broaden his discretionary powers. López Obrador has tried to rush through his Maya Train tourism project by exempting it from normal permitting and public reporting, claiming it is vital to national security. It is unclear whether Thursday’s ruling repeals the fast-track permitting process. Even more uncertain is the effect of the president reinstating the “national security” designation.