Port of Lázaro Cárdenas, México. An Ignored Worldwide Frontier

One of the principles that impulsed the theories of regional development, particularly the one of development poles, was that the territory can be a resource to promote the development of a locality, as long as policies are generated to take advantage of and enhance the geographic conditioning factors. The objective of this article is to show how the Mexican Government’s sectorial actions failed to detonate a development pole based on the Lázaro Cárdenas Steel­works; however, its subsequent operation by the private initiative was a fundamental element in converting the port of Lázaro Cárdenas in Michoacán as a key trade link between Asia-Pacific and the United States. The hypothesis that is supported refers to the need to grant it a border status, similarly to what happens on the northern border between Mexico, as a strategy to promote regional development around the port.