Funding Infrastructure From Abroad

"The road project here in Santa Rosa was sparked by Salvador Lazalde, a native of the town who now calls Utah home. Lazalde says that when he first had the idea to raise funds to pave the five kilometers of road, at roughly $125,000 each, it wasn't easy."

"Such projects represent a collaboration between people in Mexico and those living in the United States who still have strong ties to their homeland."

"The way the Tres por Uno program works is simple: Each dollar raised by a club in the United States is matched by $1 each from the municipal, state and federal governments, says Alfredo Gutierrez, coordinator of Institutes of Mexicans Abroad for the Salt Lake Mexican Consulate."

"Across the United States, there are some 250 clubs, some of which have formed 80 federations, or umbrella groups, that contribute to Tres por Uno in Zacatecas alone, says Fernando Robledo Martinez, director general of the Instituto Estatal de Migracion in Zacatecas."

"In the state of Zacatecas, in some cases the program has become four for one, with an additional dollar coming from private companies."