Mennonite farmers in Hopelchén complained of alleged land grabbing by private individuals, as the State Judiciary has prevented them from working on the 362-hectare property known as “El Progreso y El Porvenir,” affecting approximately 90 families. Since 2022, they have lost the equivalent of eight million pesos in production.
Following the hearing in the Oral Trial Courtroom, Johan Neufeld Wall, one of the producers affected by the local court ruling, reported that the plaintiff, Luis Huitz Villareal, has argued that the land in question is national property and that he is the “possessor” of the adjacent land between the towns of Francisco J. Mújica and Dzibalchén, despite the fact that the Mennonites acquired the 362 hectares in 2012 from Gregorio Sánchez, who had held the title to the property since 1994.
According to those affected, the sale was registered at Notary Office No. 12, under the direction of Notary Alberto Fuentes Tzec, located in the Jardines del Pedregal neighborhood of the state capital.
Judge Ana Maribel de Atocha Huitz May ordered the Public Prosecutor’s Office to evict the people occupying the disputed property, preventing them from working and affecting 40 Mennonite families and 50 residents of Hopelchén, explained Johan Neufeld Wall.
Those affected stated that the lawsuit lacks a ruling from a federal judge, meaning Huitz Villarreal cannot use the land that the Mennonites and residents of Hopelchén have worked for ten years, since 2012.
They added that Huitz Villarreal has maintained that the land is national property and has presented himself as the “possessor” of what he has called “El Ramonal.”
However, the Mennonites reported that their property documents are legal and that even the Ministry of Agrarian, Territorial and Urban Development (SEDATU) has determined that the property called “El Ramonal” does not exist.
The documents the Mennonites showed to the media today are the same ones they submitted to the National Agrarian Registry (RAN) to participate in federal programs, after their authenticity was verified.
This documentation, which is also on file with the Public Registry of Property, was validated by banks that granted them loans.
Following the replacement of their defense attorney, the Mennonites’ new legal advisor, Luz María Mendoza Loya, announced that a new hearing has been scheduled for July 16 at 8:30 a.m.
She added that of the 90 affected families, 40 are Mennonite and 50 are residents of Hopelchén.
“We want things done legally. We’re not asking for a fraudulent document to be submitted, asking for a bribe, nothing like that. We just want it done legally, according to justice,” she stated.
Mendoza Loya stated that he belongs to a legal group in Chihuahua that provides legal counsel to the National Front for the Rescue of the Mexican Countryside.
“Since 1994, those lands ceased to be national property. A public deed was drawn up, and based on that deed, a loan was obtained from a financial institution. The deeds were registered and encumbered. Possession was granted from the day of purchase,” Mendoza Loya said.
“Based on the economic impact, the crops that had been planted on the seized land, the lack of a harvest, affected their contracts with the companies they work for. The effort they had put into that land over more than 15 years has been set back 6 or 7 years by this action. The loss is currently around 7 or 8 million pesos. Who is going to pay for it? Who is going to take responsibility for those accounts?” he lamented.
He also said that the Campeche State Judiciary proposed using an “alternative method” to help the conflicting parties reach an agreement.
“If the other party agrees to waive the lawsuit and pursue the alternative method, we have no problem doing so. How can you negotiate in an alternative dispute resolution process a property that these people have worked for years and that has deeds?” he asked.
Source: oem
