The Puebla municipal government has initiated a formal conciliation process with ejidatarios (communal landowners) from the San Baltazar Campeche auxiliary council, who for decades have been demanding compensation for land expropriated and used for road development in the city. The dispute, which recently led to roadblocks on avenues such as Valsequillo and Las Torres, has taken on new relevance as a priority for the current administration.
Municipal trustee Mónica Silva Ruiz confirmed in an interview with TELEDIARIO Puebla that the City Council fully recognizes the ejidatarios’ right to compensation, although she cautioned that any payment must be within a legal and administrative procedure and subject to the municipality’s financial capacity. “We don’t have the money in the drawer. It’s not a matter of will, but of law and budgetary order,” she stated.
The dispute dates back to an expropriation carried out more than forty years ago, but it was in 2020 that the community members initiated a restitution lawsuit before the Agrarian Court. The 2023 ruling recognized their rights to the land and forced the municipality to pay or return the land, which is now occupied by high-demand roadways.
The ejido members estimate the debt amounts to 1.2 billion pesos, although there is still no judicial or administrative determination setting the final amount.
As part of the most recent agreements, the municipal government and ejido representatives established a 60-business-day truce without blockades or protests, a period during which three monitoring meetings will be held to define the next steps. “Our commitment is to guarantee their rights without compromising the operational viability of the municipality,” said Silva Ruiz.
This case, one of several inherited by past administrations, highlights a historical debt with rural communities whose lands were absorbed by urban growth without adequate compensation. “It’s a situation that’s not limited to San Baltasar. There are many expropriations in the same situation,” the official acknowledged.
Source: milenio
