Abstract

MARTINEZ-LAGUNA, Norma; SANCHEZ-SALAZAR, María Teresa  and  CASADO IZQUIERDO, José María. The Isthmus of Tehuantepec: a geo-strategic space under the influence of local and foreign interests. Successes and failures in the application of industrial development policies (1820-2002). Invest. Geog [online]. 2002, n.49, pp.118-135. ISSN 2448-7279.

The present work analyzes the historical circumstances that served as bases for industrial development projects ¡mplemented in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, since the nineteenth-century expeditions to the development of the Puebla-Panamá Plan. Its geo-strategic and economic-productive importance have made of the Isthmus a space where national and foreign business interests meet, aimed at making possible the interoceanic exchange of intemational goods, while exploiting the existing natural and human resources at the same time. The concentration of industrial infrastructure in areas linked to oil and petrochemicals processing and transfer, as well as port-related activities at Coatzacoalcos and Salina Cruz, have resulted in these productive sectors being rated as top-priorities within the numerous state plans for the region's economic development.

Keywords : Isthmus of Tehuantepec; industrial development; strategic regions.