Derivated from the nahuatl name, “Mina place”, in honor of the revolutionist Francisco Javier Mina.

Minatitlán is a city in the southeastern part of the Mexican state of Veracruz. It serves as the municipal seat for the surrounding municipality of the same name; it stands on the railway and on Federal Highway 121. The city had a 2005 census population of 109,791, while the municipality had a population of 151,983. The municipality has an areal extent of 4,123.91 km² (1,592.25 sq mi) and includes many small outlying communities such as Cosoleacaque.

Much of the city sits on reclaimed marshlands, and many new homes built on this reclaimed land have a tendency to sink as much as several feet before settling. Much of the surrounding undeveloped land is marshy, especially toward the northeast en route to Coatzacoalcos.

There is a large Zapotec indian (often referred to colloquially as "Tec(o/a)s" or "paisan(o/a)s") population in Minatitlan. They are easily recognizable in their traditional Zapotec clothing. Most speak Spanish, but their traditional Zapotec language is still in common usage among them.

There`s another city with the same name Minatitlán in the state of Colima, on the other side of the country.

One of Mexico's six oil-refining facilities is located there. The refining complex processes 291,000 barrels a day and produces diesel, fuel oil, and gasoline. The local economy basically depends on the petroleum industry. But some fruits are also cultivated in the area.