Jalisco Governor Emilio Gonzalez said Tuesday that the state government is powerless to resolve the land dispute in Tenacatita but "is intervening to get both sides to the table to reach an agreement."
Gonzalez stressed that his government played no part in the August 4 eviction of dozens of families living in the Tenacatita beach community, which he said was ordered by a district judge. The ruling came after a 20-year litigation battle between Guadalajara businessman Andres Villalobos, the owner of Rodenas Inmobiliaria, and the El Resbalse ejido (farm cooperative) over federal beach rights, as well as the ownership of a 42-hectare strip of prime beachfront land. Many foreigners have purchased lots from the ejido in the disputed area over the past four years. The lots all have titles, signed by former President Vicente Fox following a federal certification process in 2006.
"It's not a problem that the state government has created, nor one we can resolve," Gonzalez told reporters Tuesday afternoon. "The politicians are caught in the middle of a private litigation."
Presumably motivated by negative press and a noisy demonstration on Monday by 1,000 campesinos outside the state palace, Gonzalez said the government is pushing both sides in the dispute to the negotiating table, largely due to concerns over the possibility of social unrest in the region. State police officers are still blocking the federal highway leading into Tenacatita. Access to the beach is restricted and no one is being allowed in to the area to see exactly how many homes and businesses Villalobos' employees may have demolished.
State Congressman Gabriel Ponce Miranda, leader of the Jalisco branch of the National Campesino Confederation (CNC), said tensions are running so high among evicted residents of Tenacatita that he feared some would resort to violence unless they were allowed to return to their properties.
Gonzalez said that while he played no part in ordering the eviction, it was the state government's legal duty to ensure that the judge's orders were carried out. To this end, more than 150 armed state police officers were dispatched to the area on August 4 to forcibly remove the families from their homes. More than 30 complaints of abuse by police officers have been filed with the State Human Rights Commission.
Federal legislator Enrique Ibarra of the Partido del Trabajo (PT) is unconvinced at the government's assertion of impartiality. On Tuesday, he accused the Gonzalez administration of exceeding its authority in siding with Villalobos. Ibarra said Villalobos, the former president of the Guadalajara Chamber of Commerce, was present "in the corridors of power when decisions were taken and in the company of (Government Secretary) Fernando Guzman."
Asked by a reporter if it was necessary to close the beach following the evictions, Gonzalez replied, "ask the judge."
Jalisco Police Chief Carlos Najera has not indicated who is giving him orders to maintain the blockade of the highway and beach.
Meanwhile, Rodenas employees have erected wire fencing around the disputed land to keep people out – prompting accusations of environmental damage to the nearby mangrove swamp. A state patrol car is parked on the beach to prevent anyone landing via the ocean.
Finding common ground at the negotiating table may be difficult given the long legal battle and the obvious disdain Villalobos has for the ejido. In previous newspaper interviews, he has referred to the low-income campesinos as "delinquents" and told La Jornada in 2008 that he would get the "squatters" out by "blows (chingadazos) sooner or later." Meanwhile, Villalobos has been portrayed as a an evil land-grabber who is depriving poor Mexicans of their hard-earned gains won in the Mexican Revolution, and who wants to build a luxury resort, privatize the beach and enrich himself.
"We hope the parties in the dispute sit down and reach an agreement," said Gonzalez. "As the old saying goes: "Better a bad agreement than a good fight (mas vale un mal arreglo que un buen plieto)."
Meanwhile, La Huerta Mayor Carlos Roman Ramirez said Rodenas would be guilty of breaking the law if properties had been demolished without a proper municipal permit. State police have prevented all municipal officials from entering the zone. Ramirez also said Villalobos' real estate company had not paid dues for the federal land concession for the past 11 years.
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
