Ley Agraria
The Ley Agraria (Agrarian Law) governs the ejido and communal land system in Mexico, reforming the previous 1971 law in response to the 1991 constitutional reform of Article 27. The law regulates the rights of ejido members (ejidatarios), the use and transfer of ejido land, and the legal status of communal property. The 1992 reform allowed ejido land to be sold, rented, or mortgaged for the first time, breaking with the post-revolutionary prohibition on alienation of ejido land. The law also established the National Agrarian Registry (Registro Agrario Nacional).
Legal area: Agriculture law governs land tenure, agrarian reform, and the legal framework for agricultural production.
Year enacted: 1992
Full text: https://www.diputados.gob.mx/LeyesBiblio/htm/ley_agraria.htm
Key Provisions
- Art. 3: Definition of ejido and communal property (ejido y propiedad comunal)
- Art. 5-8: Rights of ejidatarios (derechos de los ejidatarios)
- Art. 15-20: Ejido assemblies and governance (asambleas ejidales)
- Art. 23-35: Use and transfer of ejido land (dominio de tierras ejidales)
- Art. 46-55: Certification of ejido rights (certificación de derechos ejidales)
- Art. 61-70: National Agrarian Registry (Registro Agrario Nacional)
Significance
The Agrarian Law fundamentally transformed Mexico’s ejido system by allowing the commercialization of ejido land. The reform was part of the broader neoliberal restructuring of the Mexican economy in the 1990s. The law has been controversial, with critics arguing that it facilitated the dispossession of ejido members through fraudulent sales and contracts. The ejido system remains a significant feature of Mexican agriculture, with millions of hectares held under ejido tenure.