Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador posted a photo on social media on Wednesday depicting an Aluxe, a legendary creature with indigenous roots, which was purportedly sighted a few days prior at the location where his notable railway project is being built.
But social media users and Twitter's fact-checking team soon contested Lopez Obrador's claim, noting the picture of the "elf" is at least two years old and was not recently taken in southeastern Mexico, as the president asserted.
"I shared two photos of our supervision of the Mayan Train works: One, taken by an engineer three days ago, looking like an aluxe; another, by Diego Prieto of a splendid pre-Hispanic sculpture in Ek Balam. Everything is mystical," the tweet read.
Aluxe, also spelled as Alux or Aluxob, is a mythical creature from the folklore of Mayan indigenous people in Mexico and Central America. It is believed to be a small, mischievous and playful creature, similar to a fairy or a goblin, that lives in the jungle and in sacred natural sites.
According to legend, the Aluxe can be helpful or mischievous, depending on how it is treated by humans. It is often depicted as a guardian of the environment and a protector of the Mayan people's cultural heritage.
Interestingly, the Alux is native to the Yucatan Peninsula where Lopez Obrador's main infrastructure project, El Tren Maya, is being constructed.
While Lopez Obrador is not of indigenous descent, nor does he profess Indigenous beliefs or native tongues, the president has often indulged in ceremonies of Indigenous origin to legitimize the construction of the Tren Maya.
On Dec. 16, 2018, the same day the Tren Maya began construction, Lopez Obrador conducted an Indigenous ceremony "asking" Mother Earth for permission to start the over 960 miles of track.
The project has cut down 3.4 million trees in the region after four years of construction, especially in the railway segment constructed by the Ministry of National Defense, which has overseen the knockdown of over 2 million trees.
Despite multiple appeals pushed by citizens and environmental activists worried about the potential damage the train might represent to the region, the Lopez Obrador administration has continued with the construction by establishing the Tren Maya as a matter of national security.
The Tren Maya will cross 41 municipalities in five states from Mexico's southeastern region: Chiapas, Tabasco, Campeche, Yucatan and Quintana Roo.
The profits will go directly to the military since they are now the official owners of the project.
