Palomares

Palomares lies in the low northern part of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, about 117 m above sea level, in the municipality of Matías Romero Avendaño. The 2020 census counted 4,302 people, against just 417 in 1910 and 280 in 1930. The big jump came in the mid-twentieth century, from 395 people in 1940 to 877 in 1950 and 4,360 in 1990; since then the figure has hovered between 3,700 and 4,400.

Its importance is as a road junction. Federal Highway 147, about 175 km long, ends here after running down from near Tuxtepec, and meets federal Highway 185, which crosses the Isthmus. That makes Palomares a crossing for anyone travelling between the Papaloapan region, southern Veracruz and the Pacific coast. The trans-isthmus railway line runs through the ejido's lands.

It is an agencia of the municipality and has an ejido's way of life. In February 2023 farmers from Palomares tried to stop work on renewing the rail line, the replacement of wooden sleepers with concrete ones under the Interoceanic Corridor programme, and the Navy moved in to clear them near the La Esperanza bridge, as El Universal reported. It is a current-affairs note that says something about the place: agricultural, built on communal land, and crossed by the region's biggest public works.

It is not a tourist destination and has no catalogued sights. Most people reach it in passing, and it is simplest to stock up in Matías Romero.