The Interoceanic Corridor project will use the Z line of the railroad as its backbone. It has connected the Atlantic and Pacific oceans along 304 kilometers for the past 100 years.
Line FA 328 KMLine K 472 Km
It runs from the port of Salina Cruz in Oaxaca to the port of Coatzacoalcos in Veracruz.
The project promoted by President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador impacts 79 municipalities in these two states.
It offers national and foreign investment a nearshoring model in a mainly agrarian territory, where 4 out of 10 people self-identify as indigenous.
Indigenous population
0 to 25%
25% to 50%
50% to 80%
80% to 90%
more than 90%
The government claims that in 2019 it obtained the “informed consent” of the people affected, but this has been rejected by the inhabitants interviewed for this report. The consultations were run out without providing enough information on the social and environmental impacts.
Despite local opposition, the Mexican government is seeking to convince countries such as the United States and China that the Corridor will allow them to strengthen their industrial competitiveness.
The Isthmus location promises a reduction of up to five days in transit time compared to the Panama Canal:
2.2 days to South America
2.3 days to the United States
15 days to Asia and Europe
Initially, the government will concede ten industrial parks to private companies, called Development Sites (PODEBI as its name in Spanish). Here, companies will transform their raw materials into marketable products. These places were once agrarian or indigenous lands.
The natural wealth of Oaxaca and Veracruz is the main asset for investment, especially because of the water in the area.
The Corridor requires an investment of five billion dollars to turn Mexico into the new gateway to global trade; most of the resources are public.
In addition to the rehabilitation of trains, and the expansion of the capacity of seaports, airports, and highways, there will be a gas pipeline for exclusive commercial and private use, a green hydrogen pipeline whose raw material is water, and a desalination plant.
It provides fiscal incentives for companies and, plans to connect the project with the Mayan Train - AMLO´s mega-project for the southeast of the country - in Palenque. It will also link with Puerto Chiapas, in Chiapas, to have a direct exit to Central America.
The Corridor is also a “safety belt” to mitigate migration, providing jobs for migrants to prevent them from reaching the United States, President Lopez Obrador has said.
Migrant route to the United States
The project, originally headed by civilian authorities, was delegated in 2022 to the Secretariat of the Navy, generating distrust among the inhabitants who overnight saw their communities militarized: there are at least 2,512 marines, 21 detachments, and four battalions.
Detachments
Naval station
Battalion
The militarization increased tension and attracted criminalization.
