The words “Ejidal” can inks a lot of buyers, it as a complex history. But what makes the “Zona Ejidal” in Playa del Carmen different?

The formation of Ejido

To understand those special lands, we have to go back to the Mexican revolution. Before, thousands of hectares were the property of nobles and rich peoples. They were making the people working on their lands, in exchange for a place to live. At that time, the workers (farmers) were living in poverty. Working for the landowners also offers protection. Before the Mexican war, people start to point out that the people who work on the land should be the owners. It was the case of leader Emiliano Zapata, who play an important role in the Mexican revolution and is at the base of the Land Reform. At the end of the revolution, the Land Reform was created. Call the Reforma Agraria, it divides and gives the lands to the farmers who were working on it, with limited rights. All the new owners are registered at the National Agrarian Registry and they are all part of a new association called Ejido.

The limitation of Ejidal lands

The lands were now used for agriculture. Even if farmers were attributed lands, the government was the owner. This means that they could work the land, build in it, sell what they make off of it, but they couldn't sell the land because it was the property of the country. When an owner dies, the right to work the land is pass to his family. Within time, some farmers no longer wanted to work the land, and they were pushing the government to be able to sell it. This happened in the 1990s, the former president Carlos Salinas de Gortari made a reform that authorizes the selling of Ejidal’s lands. Yet, the process from Ejidal to private is long (2-3 years).

La Zona Ejidal of Playa Del Carmen

The particularity of the Zona Ejidal is that…it’s a district name! It actually was before an Ejidal area, but it’s has gone through the privatization process and then has been sold to investors. The land had gone through urbanization and regulation (road, streets, electricity, water,…) and once it was it became a district. They then incorporate the Zona Ejidal into the city of Playa del Carmen, keeping the name of the land. Now, the district function like the rest of the community, and it is the same in the real estate field. You can buy, sell and construct on this district, like the rest of Playa del Carmen real estate.

When you do your research, if you still have doubt when you see “Ejidal”, you can verify in two ways:

- First, you can go through the  Public city register. It is public and you have access to the record of every property in Playa del Carmen, as well as their current and previous owners. If you find the property you want to buy, it is not Ejidal.

- Second, you can approach an agent of the Century 21 Caribbean Paradise in Playa del Carmen. The agency offers security, meaning that when someone sells a property, the agent verifies it has legal certainty. The agency has no Ejidal property in their listing. They can also verify for you the property you found.

Knowing history is important to understand the status of Ejidal land, and thus, avoiding scams. However the district “Zona Ejidal” is not part of the Ejido, the name is a vestige of the past.

Have you learn more about the “Zona Ejidal” in Playa del Carmen? Are you planning on buying in this district? Comment Bellow!