Veracruz: The Third Most Indigenous State of Mexico
The State of Veracruz, located along the eastern Gulf Coast of the Mexican Republic, shares common borders with the states of Tamaulipas (to the north), Oaxaca and Chiapas (to the south), Tabasco (to the southeast), and Puebla, Hidalgo, and San Luis Potosí (on the west). Veracruz also shares about 430 miles (690 kilometers) of its eastern boundary with the Gulf of Mexico.
Politically divided into 212 municipios, Veracruz has an area of 71,826 square kilometers, representing 3.7% of Mexico’s national territory and making it the 11th largest Mexican state. In 2010, Veracruz had 8,112,505 inhabitants, making it the third largest Mexican state in terms of population. The capital of Veracruz is Xalapa-Enríquez, which had a population of 424,755 in 2010.
A Diverse Topography
Veracruz has a very diverse and rapidly changing topography, witnessing a rise from the tropical coastal plains to temperate valleys and thence to the highlands of the Eastern Sierra Madre Mountains. As a result, the state’s climate is very assorted, evolving from cold, snow-topped mountain slopes that descend toward the warm western coastal areas. Pico de Orizaba (Citlaltépetl), inland from Veracruz, with an elevation of 18,491 feet above sea level, is the highest mountain in all of Mexico and the third highest in North America.
Abundant rainfall and extremely fertile soil in the coastal regions of Veracruz permit the cultivation of a wide range of crops. The state is a leading national producer of coffee, sugarcane, corn, and rice. From the tropical forests of the inland regions come dyewoods, hardwoods, and rubber. In the cooler regions in the west, one finds maguey, cactus and coniferous forests. However, the state’s principal natural resource and dominant industry is oil. The mountains contain relatively unexploited deposits of gold, silver, iron, and coal.
Physiographic Provinces
While the hills cover 37.15% of the surface of the state, plains make up 35.58% of Veracruz and its mountain ranges cover 20.38% of the state. Veracruz’s state surface is part of the following two seven provinces which are described below and illustrated in the Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía (INEGI) map on the following page:
Sierra Madre Oriental covers 4.89% of the surface area of the state: This region contains the Sierra de Zongolica and covers the northwest part of the state adjacent to the neighboring states of Hidalgo and Puebla. It is made up of mountain ranges and some plateaus.
Llanura Costera del Golfo Norte (The Coastal Plain of the North Gulf) covers 30.05% of the state surface in the northern part of the state and parts of the central region. This zone consists of rolling hills, valleys and plains.
Eje Neovolcánico (The Neovolcanic Axis) covers 10.85% of the State and cuts across the center of the state from the coastal plain to the state of Puebla. It is composed mainly of hills and mountains but also contains some plateaus and plains. The Transversal Volcanic System is part of a chain that extends westward through other central Mexican states.
Sierra Madre del Sur covers 2.78% of the state surface in the center-west of Veracruz, adjacent to Puebla. The Sierra Madre includes mountains, as well as some intervening valleys.
Llanura Costera del Golfo Sur covers 47.98% of the states’s surface. This region – consisting mainly of plains, hills and small valleys – covers much of the southern part of the state.
Sierras de Chiapas y Guatemala covers 2.83% of the state’s surface at the southeastern tip of the state, adjacent to Chiapas and Tabasco.
Cordillera Centroamericana (The Central American Mountain Range) covers 0.62% of the state’s surface. This mountain range is in the south adjacent to Chiapas and includes the Sierras del Sur de Chiapas.
The Ethnic and Linguistic Diversity of Veracruz
The State of Veracruz has been home to a wide range of indigenous cultures over the last three thousand years. But, even today, Veracruz continues to display a unique cross-section of both linguistic and ethnic cultures. In fact, in the 2010 census, Veracruz had the third largest population of people who spoke indigenous languages (after Oaxaca and Chiapas). Most of the State’s principal regions are still home to multiple ethnic and linguistic groups, as detailed below:
· The Huasteca (Northern Veracruz, adjacent to Tamaulipas, San Luis Potosí Hidalgo, and Puebla): Náhuatl, Otomí. Tepehua and Huasteco languages.
· Sierra de Huayacocotla (Northwestern Veracruz adjacent to Hidalgo): Náhuatl, Otomí, Tepehua and Huasteco languages.
· Totonicapán (North central Veracruz, adjacent to Puebla): Náhuatl and Totonaca languages.
· Grandes Montañas (Central Veracruz adjacent to Puebla): Náhuatl, Totonaca, Popoluca and Mazateco languages.
· Llanuras de Sotavento (Coastal and Southwestern Veracruz adjacent to Oaxaca): Chinanteco, Zapoteco, Popoluca, Náhuatl, Mazateco and Mixteco languages.
· Tuxtlas Popoluca (Southeastern Veracruz): Náhuatl language.
· Istmo Veracruzano — also known as Olmeca — (Southeastern Veracruz, adjacent to Tabasco and Oaxaca): Náhuatl, Zapoteco, Popoluca, Chinanteco, Totonaca, Zoque and Tzotzil languages.
Because Veracruz is such a narrow state, many of its indigenous groups inhabit territories that reach into neighboring states. It is important to remember that, while the borders of the State of Veracruz were the creation of political administrators two hundred years ago, the territories of its many ethnic groups were subject to social, geographic and topographic influences that are much older and date to pre-Hispanic times.
Research Guides
For the researcher seeking to learn the detailed history of the individual communities of Veracruz, the following works are recommended:
Aztec Imperial Strategies (by Frances F. Berdan, Professor Michael E. Smith, and others)
A Guide to the Historical Geography of New Spain (by Peter Gerhard)
Native Peoples of the Gulf Coast of Mexico (edited by Alan R. Sandstrom and E. Huge Garcia Valencia)
Early Veracruz
The Olmecs were probably one of the first Indian groups to occupy Veracruz. They occupied the coastal plains in the present-day states of Veracruz and Tabasco (southeast of Veracruz) sometime around 1000 to 300 B.C. Several Olmec sites have been found in Veracruz, including San Lorenzo and Tres Zapotes. These settlements were probably the most complex “ceremonial” sites found in all of Mesoamerica at the time of their apogee. For this reason, many anthropologists consider the Olmec civilization to be the cultura madre (mother culture) of the many Mesoamerican cultures that followed it. It is believed that the Olmec economy centered around agricultural production on the fertile floodplains, and was supplemented by fishing and shell fishing. However, by 300 B.C., the Olmec culture was eclipsed by other emerging civilizations in Mesoamerica.
Totonacs
By the time the Spaniards arrived on the Gulf Coast of Mexico in 1519, the Totonac Indians occupied some fifty towns in what is now central Veracruz. Boasting a population of a quarter million people, the Totonacs spoke four primary dialects. Their capital, Cempoala, located five miles inland from the present city of Vera Cruz, had a population of about 25,000.
The Aztec Conquest of Veracruz
During the Fifteenth Century and the early years of the Sixteenth Century, the mighty Aztec Empire, ruled by the Mexica Indians from their capital city Tenochtitlán, began a concerted effort to subdue and incorporate the rich coastal areas of the Gulf Coast into their domain. Eventually, Veracruz, along with portions of the neighboring states, would make up parts of seven Aztec provinces.
After their conquest by the Mexica ruler Axayácatl in 1480, the Totonacs were incorporated into the Aztec provinces of Cempoallan, Misantla and Xalapa (Jalapa). These areas, with an abundance of water and fertile land, were richly endowed with a wide array of vegetation and crops, including cedars, fruits, cotton, cacao, maize, beans, and squashes. In pre-Hispanic times, cotton was a very significant crop, which the Totonacs used to make cotton armor. As tribute to their Aztec masters, the Totonacs sent cloth, clothing, maize, foodstuffs, honey and wax to Tenochtitlán.
The province of Cempoallan, and its associated Totonac towns and fortifications, could mobilize up to 50,000 warriors at a time. The natives of Cempoallan, incited by the neighboring Tlaxcalans (who remained an independent enclave within the Aztec Empire), continuously rebelled against the Mexica. Even the last Mexica emperor Moctezuma II spent the early years of his reign leading campaigns against the Indians of Veracruz. (Moctezuma began his reign in 1502 and stayed in power until 1520).
The Aztec Province of Xalapa, also inhabited by Totonac Indians, was only added to the Mexica domain by Moctezuma II in the years preceding the Spanish contact. Jalapa stood along a major route between the coast and Tenochtitlán and was rich agricultural territory, with maize and chilies as its prominent crops. This route would become very significant with the arrival of the Spaniards in 1519. The city of Jalapa is now the capital of Veracruz.
The map below shows the Aztec Empire and its three major cities (The Triple Alliance: Tenochtitlan, Texcoco and Tlacopan) at the time of the Spanish contact [Source: Comandante, Wikipedia U. E. “Aztec Empire.” Ancient History Encyclopedia. Online: https://www.ancient.eu/image/2321/ (Last modified February 26, 2014)]. It should be noted that Tochpan (present-day Tuxpan) is at the most northerly reaches the Aztec Empire on the Gulf of Mexico Coast, and Tochpan is more than 90 miles south of Tampico (Tamaulipas).
Cortés Meets the Totonacs (1519)
The Totonacs were the first natives whom Captain Hernán Cortés met upon his landing on the Gulf Coast near present-day Veracruz in April 1519. Being compelled by the Mexica to the payment of a heavy tribute, including the frequent seizure of their people for slaves or for sacrifice in the bloody Aztec rites, the Totonac were ripe for revolt, and their king, Tlacochcalcatl, eagerly welcomed Cortés and promised the support of his fifty thousand warriors against Emperor Moctezuma and the Aztec Empire. Soon after, the Spaniards helped the Totonacs to expel Moctezuma’s tribute-collectors.
In June 1519, the Totonacs helped the Spaniards in the founding of La Villa Rica de la Vera Cruz (The Rich Town of the True Cross) on the site of the present-day port of Veracruz. Veracruz thus became the first city founded by the Spaniards on the North American continent. Even today, Veracruz remains as one of the most important commercial and industrial centers of Mexico.
The Destruction of the Aztec Empire (1519-1521)
On August 16, 1519, Cortés assembled a massive army for an expedition inland. He had a force of at least 400 Spanish soldiers, 150 Cuban Indian servants, 1,300 Cempoalans and other Totonac warriors and seven pieces of artillery. They also had 15 horses, reserved exclusively for the captains of the army. The Spanish army was thus beefed up with more than a thousand native warriors and 200 porters, who dragged the cannon and carried supplies. The distance from Cempoala to Tenochtitlán is 250 miles, as the crow flies. After an extended campaign well-described in our history books, Cortés took control of Tenochtitlán in August 1521.
The Devolution of the Aztec Empire
The Aztec Empire of 1519 had been the most powerful Mesoamerican kingdom of all time. The multi-ethnic, multi-lingual realm stretched for more than 80,000 square miles through many parts of what is now central and southern Mexico. Fifteen million people, living in thirty-eight provinces and residing in 489 communities, paid tribute to the Emperor Moctezuma II in Tenochtitlán. But, with the downfall of Moctezuma and his empire, most of the Aztec Empire was dismantled and devolved to the control of their Spaniards and their indigenous allies. This meant that most of what is now Veracruz became subject to the Spanish Empire.
The Totonac Benefit
The Totonacs had taken an active part in the campaign as allies of the Spaniards. In addition to giving ready allegiance to the Spaniards, they embraced the Roman Catholic faith of the Europeans. The region they occupied is now known as Totonicapán and includes parts of both Veracruz and Puebla. As early as 1523, the Franciscans first started working among the Totonac people of the highlands. The Augustinians arrived a decade later to proselytize the Totonacs along the border region of Hidalgo, Puebla, and Veracruz.
H.R. Harvey and Isabel Kelly, the authors of “The Totonac” in the “Handbook of Middle American Indians,” write that “In the large areas where Totonac speech has survived to the present, there was little to attract the Spaniard. Transportation and communications were difficult.” In addition, Totonicapán largely lacked the mineral resources that attracted the Spanish conquistadors to other areas of Mexico. For this reason, much of Totonicapán remained intact and isolated, and to this day, many forms of native Totonac culture have survived.
Today, the Totonacs of Puebla and Veracruz, numbering about 100,000, are industrious farmers. Their chief crop is sugar cane, from which they manufacture sugar in their own mills. Dancing and festivals are important elements of their culture. Although some of their festivals retain elements of their ancient sacrificial rites, most of the Totonacs are Roman Catholic today.
The Huasteco Indians (Teenek)
Although most of Veracruz easily came under Spanish control after the fall of Tenochtitlán, the Huasteco Indians, occupying the Aztec provinces of Atlan and Tochpan, remained defiant towards the conquerors. The Huastecos — also known as Teenek — represent the northernmost extension of the Mayan language family in Mexico. Several scholars have written about the separation of the Teenek from the rest of the Maya family, theorizing that the Huastecos probably arrived in the Veracruz region about 3,500 years ago, an area they shared with Nahua, Tepehua, and Otomí peoples by the time of the Spaniards’ arrival. The Huastecs were organized into small feudal states governed by rulers who had absolute authority over their subjects. Today the Hausteco presently occupy about 55 municipios in northern Veracruz, northern Puebla, eastern Hidalgo, southeastern San Luis Potosí, and southern Tamaulipas.
Conquest of the Huasteco Indians (1522-1526)
Like their Totonac neighbors, the Huastecos had been forced to pay tribute to the Mexica in the form of skins, paper, cotton and blankets. However, when the Spaniards arrived in their territory, the Huastecos did not cooperate with them as the neighboring Tlaxcalans and Totonacs had. In 1520, the Huastecos wiped out a small Spanish settlement that had been set up in their territory. Once he had taken control of Tenochtitlán in August 1521, Cortés marched toward Huasteco territory with a large force of Spaniards and Mexica allies. After meeting with considerable resistance, Cortés defeated the Huastecos and founded the Villa de San Esteban in 1522.
However, further revolts by the Huastecos in late 1523 and 1525-26 were put down with great cruelty. In spite of their battles with both the Mexica and the Spaniards, the Huastecos continue to survive today, maintaining many aspects of their traditional culture and language. Huastecan music and dancing have influenced the musical folklore of Mexico.
The Huasteca Region
The “Huasteca” is a huge and historically important region of northeastern Mexico once inhabited mainly by the Huastec Indians when their civilization was at its height in the Mesoamerican period. Today this topographically and climatically diverse area is considered a rich agricultural region with an abundance of water from the riverine systems flowing to the Gulf. Geographically it has been defined as the area running from the Sierra Madre Oriental to the Gulf of Mexico with the Sierra de Tamaulipas as the northern border and the Cazones River as its southern border. It extends over the south of Tamaulipas, the southeast of San Luis Potosí, the northeast of Querétaro and Hidalgo and the extreme north of Veracruz and Puebla, as well as a very small portion of Guanajuato. Although the Huastecos and Náhuatl still occupy some areas of the current Huasteca, mestizo populations extensively replaced them in many areas during the Spanish colonial period.
Southern Veracruz
Many scholars see southern Veracruz a distinctive region that has its own identity from the rest of the state. Southern Veracruz is mainly populated by two ethnic groups, the Popoluca and the Nahua (the language of the Aztecs), as well as some Zapotec, Zoque, Mixtecs and Mazatecs.
The Popoluca (Homshuk)
The Popoluca Indians inhabit the southeastern part of the state of Veracruz, not far from the border with Tabasco State. The Popoluca call themselves “Homshuk,” which means “God of Corn.” However, the word Popoluca originated in the Náhuatl language and was used to refer to foreign peoples (i.e., people who do not speak their language). All four Popoluca groups speak mutually unintelligible languages classified within the Mixe-Zoquean family and are culturally and linguistically similar to the Mixe and Zoque Indians of nearby Chiapas and Oaxaca. Traditionally, the Popoluca have been engaged in agriculture and cultivate a wide variety of foods, including maíz (corn), frijol (beans) and rice.
The Otomí (The Sierra Nahñu)
The Otomí (who call themselves Nahñu, or Hñahñu) belong to the seventh most common language group in Mexico and presently occupy portions of the states of Hidalgo, México, Puebla, Tlaxcala, Veracruz, Querétaro and Michoacán. The Otomí live in the northern part of Veracruz and, at one time, held a great deal of power and prestige throughout east central Mexico. However, the rise of the Aztec Empire caused a decline of the Otomíes during the Fourteenth Century. Nahñu belongs to the Otopamean language family, a subfamily of the very large Otomanguean Linguistic Group. (Most of the Oaxacan indigenous groups — including the Zapotecs and Mixtecs — belong to this language family.) However, linguistic studies indicate that the Otomí split from the ancestral Otomanguean about 6,500 years ago.
The Tepehua
The Tepehua Indians occupy two regions: a band stretching from Huehuetla in Hidalgo, northwestward through Tlachichilco in Veracruz, where the Tepehua are surrounded by Otomí and mestizo settlements; and a U-shaped area at lower elevations to the northeast of Pantepec, Veracruz, where they are surrounded by Totonac and Otomí settlements. These regions are at the southern boundary of the Huasteca Region. The name “Tepehua” may be derived from either of the Nahua words tepetl (mountain) or ueialtepetl (town dweller). The Tepehua religion retains beliefs and practices that are rooted in their pre-Hispanic past. It is believed that the remoteness of Tepehua territory played some role in the failure of evangelists to convert the Tepehua during the colonial era. The Tepehua of the present day era are primarily engaged in agriculture. They cultivate maíz, frijol, mountain Chile, tomato, lentil, onion garlic and sesame.
The Nahuas of Veracruz
Náhuatl is the most spoken language in the Mexican Republic. Some Nahua languages in Veracruz and adjacent states are mutually unintelligible because of successive migrations of people from different cultures over a period of many centuries. According to some studies, the earliest Nahua speakers arrived in the area around the Twelfth Century, following the fall of Tula. In addition, Náhuatl was the language of the Aztec conquerors who dominated the area for the several decades before the arrival of the Spaniards. As a result, the Nahua speakers of Veracruz actually consist of four separate groups living in different regions of the state:
The Nahuas of Huasteca (the Huasteca region extends from northern Veracruz into eastern Hidalgo and southeastern San Luis Potosí).
The Nahuas of Totonicapán. Totonicapán extends through both Veracruz and the Sierra Norte de Puebla region of Puebla State. This interethnic area includes Náhuatl speakers, as well as Totonac, Tepehua and Otomí speakers.
The Nahuas of the Sierra de Zongolica. Situated in the Grandes Montañas of the west central region of Veracruz, this area is comprised of 12 municipios. The Náhuatl speakers in this area speak the Orizaba dialect. In 1991, speakers of the Orizaba dialect through all states numbered 120,000.
The Nahuas of Southern Veracruz: Náhuatl speakers inhabit some portions of the southern region of Veracruz, which is composed of lowland plains and volcanic hills and borders the western part of the State of Tabasco.
Colonial Period
During the long colonial period, the port of Veracruz, as Mexico’s main port of entry, has been a contested prize for both Mexican generals and alien invaders. It was through this port that thousands of African slaves were brought en route to destinations at various locations in colonial Mexico. During the Seventeenth and Eighteen Centuries, the port was easy prey for buccaneers who wreaked havoc throughout the Caribbean. As the first city founded by the Spaniards in Mexico, it was also their last stronghold before their expulsion in 1821.
Independence (1822)
On May 19, 1822, General Agustin Iturbide had been declared the Emperor of Mexico. However, his reign quickly met with resistance and, in August 1822, Iturbide took action against all the opposition. It was in Veracruz on December 1, 1822, when the commander of the garrison, Antonio López de Santa Anna Pérez de Lebrón, rose against Iturbide and proclaimed a republic. Santa Anna would eventually serve nine terms as President of the Mexican Republic. In 1838, the French Navy blockaded Veracruz during the “Pastry War” of that year. In 1847, during the Mexican-American War, General Winfield Scott led American troops in a landing at Veracruz.
The 1895 Census
In 1895, 178,290 persons five years of age or more in the State of Veracruz spoke an indigenous language. With a total state population of 866,355 persons, the speakers of indigenous languages represented more than one-fifth of the population. Among the many indigenous languages spoken in Veracruz in 1895, the most common tongues were:
Náhuatl (Mexica): 107,053 individuals
Totonaco: 30,500 individuals
Huastecos: 23,236 individuals
The 1921 Mexican Census (Racial Categories)
In the unusual 1921 Mexican census, residents of each state were asked to classify themselves in several categories, including “indígena pura” (pure indigenous), “indígena mezclada con blanca” (indigenous mixed with white) and “blanca” (white). Out of a total state population of 1,159,935, 406,638 persons (or 35.06%) claimed to be of pure indigenous background. Another 556,472 – or 47.97% – classified themselves as being mixed, while 114,150 (9.84%) claimed to be white.
Indigenous Veracruz in 2000
According to the 2000 census, the population of persons five years and more who spoke indigenous languages in Veracruz amounted to 633,372 individuals, who represented 9.17% of the population. These individuals spoke a wide range of languages, some of which are transplants from other parts of the Mexican Republic. The largest indigenous groups represented in the state in 2000 were:
Ø Náhuatl (338,324 speakers)
Ø Totonaco (119,957)
Ø Huasteco (51,625)
Ø Popoluca (36,999)
Ø Zapoteco (20,678)
Ø Chinanteco (19,285)
Ø Otomí (17,584)
Ø Mazateco (8,784).
The Leading Indigenous States in 2010
In the 2010 census, the four Mexican states with the largest populations of indigenous speakers (by number) in the 2010 census were:
Oaxaca – 1,165,186 indigenous speakers six years of age or older
Chiapas – 1,141,499 indigenous speakers six years of age or older
Veracruz – 644,559 indigenous speakers six years of age or older
Puebla – 601,680 indigenous speakers six years of age or older
However, although Veracruz had the third largest population of indigenous speakers, it was ranked tenth among the Mexican states for the percentage of indigenous speakers (9.4%). This is easily explained by the fact that Veracruz has the third largest population in Mexico (after Distrito Federal and Estado de Mexico) and thus has a much larger population of both indigenous and non-indigenous people than most other states.
One-Quarter of Veracruz Considered Indigenous (2010)
The 2010 census also included a question that asked people if they considered themselves indigenous, whether or not an indigenous language was spoken. Nearly one-fourth of the residents of Veracruz 3 years of age and older (19.9%) were classified as indigenous, ranking Veracruz ninth among the Mexican states.
Indigenous Languages Spoken in Veracruz in 2010
More than half of Veracruz’s 662,760 indigenous speakers 3 years and older in the 2010 census were Náhuatl speakers, as noted in the following table:
Náhuatl (355,785 speakers — 53.7% of the indigenous-speaking population)
Totonaca (120,810 speakers — 18.2% of the indigenous-speaking population)
Huasteco (52,660 speakers — 7.9% of the indigenous-speaking population)
Popoluca (40,796 speakers — 6.2% of the indigenous-speaking population)
Otomí (18,078 speakers — 2.7% of the indigenous-speaking population)
Chinanteco (17,875 speakers — 2.7% of the indigenous-speaking population)
Zapoteco (16,987 speakers — 2.6% of the indigenous-speaking population)
Mazateco (9,442 speakers — 1.4% of the indigenous-speaking population)
Tepehua (5,605 speakers — 0.8% of the indigenous-speaking population)
The Afromexican Population
In 2016, the Mexican government agency, Instituto Nacional de Estadística Geografía e Informática (INEGI), published the 2015 Intercensal Survey, which upgraded Mexico’s socio-demographic information to the midpoint between the 2010 census and the census to be carried out in 2020. One of the survey questions asked each resident if, according to their culture, history and traditions, they considered themselves to be black (i.e., an Afromexican or Afro-descendant).
The survey revealed that only three Mexican states had Afromexican populations that exceeded 3.0%, as illustrated below:
Guerrero (6.5%)
Oaxaca (4.9%)
Veracruz (3.3%)
Many of the African slaves sent to colonial Mexico between the Sixteenth and Nineteenth centuries arrived in the Port of Veracruz, which also had a larger number of slaves than other areas of Mexico. However, eventually, assimilation with Spaniards, mestizos and Indians over time reduced their cultural influence on present-day populations in Mexico.
Languages Spoken in Veracruz (2015)
In the 2015 Intercensal Survey, nine indigenous languages were spoken by 1% or more of the entire indigenous speaking population 3 years of age and more, as noted below:
Náhuatl (54.30%)
Totonaco (18.31%)
Huasteco (7.36%)
Popoluca de la Sierra (5.32%)
Chinanteco (2.92%)
Otomí (2.84%)
Zapoteco (2.53%)
Mazateco (1.36%)
Tepehua (1.04%)
However, two languages (Náhuatl and Totonaco) comprised 72.62%) of the total indigenous speaking population. The Instituto Nacional de los Pueblos Indígenas (INALI) map below shows the location of the indigenous communities throughout the State of Veracruz as of 2015:
The Veracruz Economy in 2016
Today, the state of Veracruz, rich in natural resources, is an important component of Mexico’s economy. In 2016, Veracruz was the sixth largest economy in Mexico and offered its investors many competitive advantages because of its climate diversity, land relief, geographic location and proven energy potential. Approximately 35% of Mexico’s water supply is found in Veracruz. In addition, the state has four deep-water ports and two international airports.
As of 2016, Veracruz had 3.1 million workers, of which one-quarter (25.2%) were engaged in agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting. As a matter of fact, 11.1% of Mexico’s agricultural workers live and work in the state of Veracruz. The area around Jalapa, the capital, is one of Mexico’s major coffee-growing areas while the central part of the state is characterized by a traditional agricultural development.
The manufacturing industry in Veracruz accounts for almost 17% of the state’s gross domestic product. The northern part of Veracruz is a major oil producer, while the rest of the state’s production includes metal products, food, beverage production, printing and publishing, non-electric machinery and equipment industries.
The port of Veracruz, with its attractive climate, cuisine, and archaeological sites, is a favorite seaside resort for Mexican and foreign tourists. Veracruz has a very advantageous location along the Gulf of Mexico. It is a favored port for exports to the United States, Latin America, and Europe. Seventy-five percent of all port activity in Mexico takes place in Veracruz. The chief exports of this state are coffee, fresh fruits, fertilizers, sugar, fish and crustaceans. Veracruz has always been and remains an important and essential state to the Mexican Republic. Its rich mineral resources and strategic location have guaranteed that, in the worst of times, Veracruz is likely to prosper and carry on.
Copyright © 2019 by John P. Schmal. All Rights Reserved.
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