During the spainsh colonial period, Coahuila (formerly New Extremadura and New Vizcay) had a poorly diversified economic activity mainly because of its isolation from the rest of the New Spain, of its scarce population, its arid weather and above all, because of the constant Indian raids that this Northern Province suffered.

Our illustrious historian Vito Alessio Robles has left us the Coahuila and Texas census taken from the early 19th century which throws a very small number of inhabitants (roughly 50,000), population that became smaller after the Texas Independence in 1835. During the 19th century  cattle raising and in a smaller degree, agriculture, flourished in Coahuila, due to the industrious ranches of the Sanchez-Navarro family which owned Mexico’s biggest ranches.

Also in this same century coal is discovered and exploited in the carboniferous region, the same discovery made by the famous German explorer Alexander Von Humboldt.

At the end of the 19th century Coahuila was bursting with industrious activities such as mining exploitation, cattle raising and agriculture, industries that reached historic volumes of production, mainly in the Laguna Region.

Industrial businesses came in the early 20th century, its central activity was to process the products that the land gave. An example of this are the textile industry in the Laguna Region that transformed the cotton that grow in that region and also the metal mechanic that flourished in the southeastern and central regions, a process that transformed the iron using both coal and iron founded in those regions.

With the establishment of Chrysler in 1979 and General Motors in Saltillo in 1981, Coahuila would become the principal auto and motor maker in Mexico, producing up to 27% of all the vehicles made in Mexico.

The Laguna region also overcame a great transformation after its textile boom in the early 90’s. The number of maquiladoras and fabrics multiplied greatly, helping to the development and growth that this region still enjoys and paving the road that would also be followed by the commerce and service industries. The carboniferous region which exploits 99% of Mexico’s coal, also had a great transformation that lead to a prosperous and efficient region, making it a very important energetic and electricity supplier.