Business
Historically Los Tuxtlas were isolated from mainstream Mexico and did not begin to
participate in the country´s development until the late 1800's when foreign entrepreneurs
developed tobacco processing in the San Andrés Tuxtla area.

The building of a railroad in 1913 and the coastal highway  in the mid 1950´s finally propelled
Los Tuxtlas into the 20th century. Since then the region has experienced explosive
population growth, largely related to Mexican government land give-away programs.

Accurate statistics are a well kept government secret, so the following figures are personal
interpretations:
Monetarily, the primary drivers of the Catemaco economy
are cattle ranching, tourism, fishing, agriculture and
witchcraft.

The largest employer is the municipal government, followed
by state and federal agencies. The largest private employer
is the US based foliage grower Flor de Catemaco.

Aside from housewives, cowboys are probably the largest
individual segment of employment, followed by more than
2000 registered fishermen, (almost no women registered),
and hundreds of shills touting brujos and boat rides

The individual businesses with the highest sales are
possibly a hardware chain, a dry goods grocer, a furniture
chain, a 57 room hotel and a major pharmacy.

Catemaco's population of app 46,000 has one bank, one
post office, one telegraph office, one ice factory, more than
a dozen state and federal agencies, 30 internet cafes, but
no phone company office .
draft
Catemaco
Veracruz, Mexico
Catemaco
Veracruz, Mexico
draft
Catemaco, Veracruz