“The country needs infrastructure, but not at any cost”

Mexico needs infrastructure and sustained economic growth, but specialists quoted by El Universal say major projects cannot come at any cost.

Eduardo Bohórquez, director of Transparencia Mexicana, says projects should begin with broad accountability, careful financial planning and no inflated costs or abuses. He warns that perceptions of corruption and opacity previously halted major infrastructure projects, including the Texcoco airport, and argues that the same pattern should not return.

“The country needs sustained economic growth and infrastructure projects, but not at any cost. The country’s strategic infrastructure requires greater integrity, transparency and flawless financial planning, without overpricing or abuses,” Bohórquez says.

“

The country needs sustained economic growth and infrastructure projects, but not at any cost. The country’s strategic infrastructure requires greater integrity, transparency and flawless financial planning, without overpricing or abuses.

Marco A. Fernández, a professor at the Tecnológico de Monterrey and a researcher at México Evalúa, describes “whim alongside corruption” as the defining feature of projects begun under the first government of what officials call the Fourth Transformation. He points to cost overruns, serious limits on social usefulness and environmental-impact problems.

Fernández also criticizes the institutions responsible for oversight, saying the auditor general has failed to do its job. He faults legislators, particularly opposition lawmakers, for not holding serious committee discussions about spending on the mega-projects. He adds that withholding information under the justification of national security does not conceal problems such as Mexicana’s lack of passengers or flooding and environmental-impact issues at the Dos Bocas refinery.

“

Whim alongside corruption