The long-running feud between Jalisco Governor Enrique Alfaro and the federal government appears to be cooling down.
Following a meeting with President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador this week, Alfaro announced that he has secured federal funding to enable two major infrastructure projects can to get under way immediately.
Almost $US300 million in federal funding has been earmarked from the National Infrastructure Fund (Fonadin) to complete the Zapotillo Dam in northern Jalisco, and construct an aqueduct and hydraulic infrastructure to pump 3,000 liters of water a second to the thirsty Guadalajara metropolitan area. In additon, AMLO promised to come up with over $US100 million to kick-start work on Line Four of the metro area’s Tren Ligero network.
Alfaro was angered after funding for both projects was excluded from the federal government’s 2022 budget, which reflected AMLO’s austerity strategy seeking to ensure Mexico does not fall into the kind of debt crisis that has handicapped so many of his predecessors.
Work on the fourth Tren Ligero line, which will run from the center of Tlajomulco to the southern suburbs of Guadalajara, is set to break ground next week. Alfaro said he expects the 20-kilometer segment to be finished by the first trimester of 2024. The full cost of the project is estimated at just over $US1 billion, much of which will be financed by the state government, with the probable participation of the private sector.