A Revolution in Land Development

Around 50% of Mexican land is locked up in ejido ownership. The system, under which communities, rather than individuals, own plots of land, draws on the pre-conquest practice of tribal farming and dates back to the final days of the Mexican Revolution and the Law of Agrarian Reform. The goal of this reform was to enable the government to transfer land from wealthy families and businesses to the peasants that actually farmed it; critics say it impeded agricultural productivity.

In 1992, when then-president Carlos Salinas initiated economic liberalization, land politics again took center stage in the debate. Salinas developed a process by which ejido land could be converted into individual parcels—and, therefore, private property.

For the most part, this law has affected change slowly. Nationwide, by 2007, fewer than 10% of the ejidos had undergone the shift to private ownership. In tourist areas, on the other hand, the opportunity to sell land to foreigners—who can often afford to pay more than locals—provides an incentive for cooperatives to take advantage of the conversion.

Proponents of the reform point to Quintana Roo’s tourist boom as an example of spurred growth; its critics say that it has allowed foreigners to buy up the region’s most valuable land—just as they did before the revolution.