Micol Seigel

Infrastructure is key to development. There is little more crucial to trade and commerce than a good system of roads and highways. That is why Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto recently announced a major new infrastructure program that hopes to attract $100 billion in private investment. The construction of a first-class highway system is today what the building of railroads was in the late 19th century, both a practical matter and a symbol of progress. Since the late 1980s Mexico has engaged in massive highway construction through public-private partnerships, resulting in the costliest toll roads in the world at great public expense.