Home  News General News History of Land Ownership Mexico
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History of Land Ownership Mexico |
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Thursday, 24 May 2007 |
To really understand how ownership in Mexico Works, it is important to
understand the history of property ownership and its evolution in
Mexico. If you Picture a country that has been dominated by foreign
owners since the early 1500's, you will begin to see why Mexico is so
protective of its most valuable resource… land.
In 1517 , when Hernandez de Cordoba sailed from Spain to the Yucatan
Peninsula, foreigners laid claim to Mexican lands. Spain decided that
since they had landed here, it was now theirs. It was not until 1822
that Mexico declared its independence from Spain, much like the U.S.
declared independence from England, but even with this new
independence, the land of Mexico was still owned by wealthy
foreigners, the Mexican upper class and the Church.
Porfirio Dias, a former President of Mexico for over 30 years, nearly sold all of Mexico to foreigners during his term.
The end result was the Mexican Revolution, which cost over one million lives and was the basis for the Federal Constitution of 1917. The new constitution imposed new laws and restrictions on foreign ownership and ownership of lands by the Catholic Church. Article 27 of the constitution allows Mexican Nationals and Mexican Companies to own property, however it restricts foreigners from owning land with the restricted zone. It is also said that the U.S. was involved in this new zoning in an effort to prevent the installation of foreign military bases on our borders or near our coastlines. This " restricted zone" is defined as property within 60 miles from any Mexican birder or within 30 miles of any Mexican coastline.
Not until the 1930's were the Mexican people allowed to own properties and profit from their work, it was not until 1992 that they were allowed to sell the properties. The 1992 Agrarian Law recognizes property rights within the Ejido and allows for the owner of record to sell or lease the property to a non-Ejido member. The property can be removed from the National Agrarian Registry ( removed from Federal Control) and placed in the public land registry allowing it to be sold or leased. Today, thousands of acres are being removed on a daily basis from the Ejidos, added to the public lands and being sold or leased. There are well over 50 million acres of land that will go through this process to be either leased or sold over the coming years
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