Abstract

BESS, Michael K.. Building the Coatzacoalcos-Minatitlan Highway and Other Roads in Southern Veracruz, 1933-1942. Secuencia [online]. 2024, n.119, e2187.  Epub June 10, 2024. ISSN 2395-8464.  https://doi.org/10.18234/secuencia.v0i119.2187.

The Coatzacoalcos-Minatitlan highway was an important route that improved mobility and expanded access to regional motorized transportation in the southern zone of Veracruz. Also, the project was an example of the formation of a local organization, and partially independent from the rest of the state-federal bureaucracy to build works in the region: the Coatzacoalcos Central Pro-Highway Committee (CCPCC). This group took a central role in directing resources and making decisions about different communications projects in southern Veracruz. This article examines the historiographic, political, and environmental background to contextualize the construction of the Coatzacoalcos-Minatitlan highway and its neighboring roads, then studies the creation of the CCPCC, its administration and bureaucracy, and local reactions to its activities in the region.

Keywords : infrastructure; regional history; environmental history; development; technology.