Former Oaxaca Governor Alejandro Murat Hinojosa presented his book “More Oaxaca in the World: The Basis of the Interoceanic Corridor,” at the Guadalajara 2022 International Book Fair.

Published by Editorial Planeta, the politician’s first published book promotes the trans-isthmus corridor project that connects the Gulf of Mexico with the Pacific Ocean. At the book’s presentation, Murat said the corridor has the potential to transform Oaxaca — and the country — with a project of global reach.

In conversation with writer and journalist Julio Patán, Murat said that Oaxaca is the protagonist of the revival of the Interoceanic Corridor, an idea that’s been around for a century. The corridor seeks to unite the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans through the Isthmus of Tehuantepec — the geographic region of Mexico with the shortest distance between the two oceans.

In the book, the author also explains the strategies he used as former governor of Oaxaca to project the cultural and natural greatness of the state to the rest of the world. “We are the most diverse state in the country in terms of tourism, but also at an economic and business level,” he said.

The corridor project includes a port as well as road and rail infrastructure to turn the region into one of the most important logistics and commercial centers in the world, Murat said.

“The Isthmus of Tehuantepec is destined to be the most important value-added logistics corridor in the world … [The project] is materializing at a time when globalization is shifting towards nearshoring by integrating regional production chains,” he said.

Government planners for the corridor estimate it will generate more than half a million jobs and an economic windfall of around US $50 billion in the next 15 years, while transporting around 1.4 million containers annually. According to experts cited in the newspaper El Economista, it would become a cheaper, faster alternative to the Panama Canal.

Since the Navy nullified the results of an initial tendering process earlier this year, project officials reported that the project has made significant progress and will begin operations in 2023.

Eduardo Romero Fong, chief of industrial development for the Interoceanic Corridor, said the corridor is one of AMLO’s flagship projects, along with Felipe Ángeles International Airport, Dos Bocas Refinery and the Maya Train.

The timing of the book’s publication, in the run-up to the 2024 presidential elections, may not be a coincidence. When the former governor was asked about his intentions to run for the highest office, Murat said he is “ready to take that step” as he has demonstrated his capabilities with Oaxaca’s success story, saying that “if it can be done in Oaxaca, it can also be done in Mexico.”

With reports from El Economista, Forbes and El Informador