How did the Porfiriato promote railroads and benefit powerful elites in Mexico?

During the Porfiriato, the government of Porfirio Díaz promoted the construction of approximately 15,000 miles (24,000 km) of railroads as a central pillar of its modernization strategy. This expansion was financed primarily through foreign capital from Britain, France, and the United States, which the regime actively courted to stimulate economic development.12

These infrastructure projects, alongside other industrial and agrarian policies, were designed to benefit the dominant elites and the científicos—a group of advisors who shaped the administration's economic agenda. The regime’s policies favored wealthy landowners and foreign investors, often at the expense of the impoverished rural population. By facilitating the transfer of public lands to private ownership and supporting the growth of large landed estates (haciendas), the government ensured that the economic gains from improved transportation and trade were concentrated among a small, powerful minority. While the railroads increased the value of foreign trade and government revenue, they primarily served to integrate the country into a global market that prioritized elite wealth over the welfare of the masses.123