EJIDAL (EEEE-heee-doll)
properties were established in Article 27 of the Mexican Constitution of
1917 as an outcome of the revolution and represent probably 50% of all
the land in Mexico.
After the revolution
hundreds of millions of acres from the original Spanish land grants were
expropriated by the government and classified as “ejidal” properties.
The state retains ownership of these lands and the peasants, or farmers,
have the right to use them, to live on and to grow their crops on them.
The rights of usage pass from father to son, but ejidal properties
cannot be sold as private property.
Per decree published on
February 26, 1992 in Diario Oficial, Mexico’s Government
Official Newspaper, certain ejidal lands can now be converted to private
property through a process known, in Spanish, as the PROCEDE, (the
procedure).
This is a seven step process that may take as much as five years to accomplish, and consists of the following:
1. Resolution within the ejido. A two-thirds majority must decide
to convert parcel lands to private property.
This does not pertain to
human settlement or communal property, also a part of ejidal land. This
pertains only to the individual parcels.
2. Mapping, allowing for streets, gardens, other donated lands, human settlements and communal lands
3. Allotment of a parcel to each ejiditario (farmer).
4. Application to Agrarian Reform, Mexico City
5. Approval by the Agrarian Reform
6. Transfer of parcels to the individual ejiditarios.
After this process is completed and registered with the Agrarian
Reform, the ejiditario who wishes to sell to an outsider must first
notify other family members, those who have worked the property for more
than one year, then other ejiditarios in the group, neighbors, and the
ejidal government before completing a sale to the outsider. These
parties have the right of first refusal and notifications must be made
following a specific procedure.
ONLY after all correct notifications have been made does the EJIDITARIO receive a deed.
ONLY then may he in turn transfer in fee simple to third parties,
nationals or foreigners. If the property is in the restricted zone ONLY
then can an ejidal property be acquired by a foreigner, PROVIDED the
Secretary of Foreign Relations will grant a permit for same. THIS IS FOR
PROPERTIES WHERE THE EJIDAL group agrees in an assembly to convert its
parcel property to private property.
What about the ejidal group who chooses NOT to convert its parcel land to private property? Can it be used by outsiders?
Article 45 of the law states that ejidal properties may be the
object of any type of contract in association or use contract made by
the ejidal group, or by individual ejiditarios on common lands or parcel
lands.
Contracts made with third parties may be granted for a term up
to thirty years and can be renewed.
Under the Mexican Civil Code the maximum lease for residential property is ten years.
Thus it can be said that the ejidal properties have an important advantage over private
RESIDENTIAL property when it comes to leasing.
There is, however, a substantial difference between OWNERSHIP and LEASING. It is important not to confuse the two.
OWNERSHIP,
even in the prohibited zone, where ownership is a PERSONAL right of use
and enjoyment, permits indefinite usage through multiple renewals
(every fifty years) of trust permits, and a clear-cut right to rent
those rights, to sell those rights, and to collect a profit therefore.
Annual costs under a
trust (fideicomiso) are limited to bank administration fees and
property taxes and the owner has full rights to all improvements on the
land.
LEASE RIGHTS from an ejidal group can be for a
maximum term of thirty years and can be renewable. The annual lease
cost, however, is often a monthly or annual payment and, while it may be
fixed for the first lease term, (up to thirty years) costs upon renewal
are not usually negotiated for the following lease term, and may be
increased to any amount that the leaseholder, the ejido, requests.
Failure to pay the amount requested by the holder of the lease
means that lessee (the
tenant under the lease) must vacate the property and, of course,
must leave behind ALL improvements affixed to the property.
In a rental situation,
the tenant never owns the improvements and the amount of the rental will
probably be determined by market conditions.
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