Yucatan

Until the mid-1900s, Yucatán’s only contact with the outside world was by sea. As a result, Yucatán’s trade with the United States, Europe and Caribbean islands was far more lucrative than that of all other Mexican states. Yucatán was linked to the rest of Mexico by railway in the 1950s and by highway a decade later. Today, Yucatán’s culture remains unique from that of other Mexican states.

In the 1960s, the first commercial jet airplanes arrived in Mérida. International airports were built in Cozumel and Cancún in the 1980s, bringing significant tourist income to the region. The Yucatán peninsula, which supports one of the largest indigenous populations in Mexico, also accomodates the state’s largest tourist volume.

For centuries, gubernatorial elections were based primarily on the purity of the candidates’ Hispanic ancestry. However, this led to corruption and the oppression of Yucatán’s majority population — those of indigenous ancestry. The first governor of Yucatán born of pure Mayan descent, Francisco Luna Kan, was elected in 1976. His victory represented a political break from tradition.