Councilman Fights Land Scammers in Playa del Carmen

Playa del Carmen — "The full force of the law must be brought down upon scammers and speculators who invade land, subdivide it, and offer it for sale without holding property titles," stated Councilman Juan Novelo Zapata.

He added, "There are cases of a single person who monopolized 300 hectares or parcel rights and subsequently sold them to people of limited means, resulting in the consequent social problem of land tenure."

He said this situation generates multiple problems in Playa del Carmen, one of them being that the invaders, who require public services, connect illegally, for example, to the lines of the Federal Electricity Commission, causing disruptions for other neighborhoods.

He pointed out that there are numerous requests before the Ministry of Agrarian, Territorial and Urban Development (SEDATU) to obtain land rights, making it necessary to conduct the respective studies to avoid benefiting scammers and monopolizers who profit from the needs of people with limited resources.

"It is urgent to legally halt the sale of land without authorization and without legal certainty, which affects people's right to access dignified housing, with public services, roadways, and common recreational spaces," stated Councilman Juan Novelo.

He emphasized, "There is a lot of corruption in this matter, which is why it is necessary to eradicate the kickbacks, the scams, and the undue payments behind the invasions, commanded by cunning leaders who take advantage of the needs of people in need."

He mentioned that it is urgent to guarantee the regularization and legal certainty of properties, review the municipalization of subdivisions, and halt the dispossession of land owned by native people, who have been deceived and stripped of their property.

He commented that many people buy their houses in good faith, go into debt, and it turns out that these houses do not have public services, because the developers did not carry out the corresponding procedures before the competent authorities, lacking permits and services.

"Other people invaded land, subdivide it, and offer it without public services, swindling buyers who lack potable water, drainage, electricity, among other things, and live in undignified conditions," he indicated.

He emphasized that he proposed the creation of the Land Tenure Regularization Commission in the Playa del Carmen City Council, as well as an initiative to legally halt the sale of land without authorization and without legal certainty, protecting people's right to dignified housing.

"It is a complex issue with many facets, involving agencies from all three levels of government, which is why specific cases must be analyzed. It is urgent to implement actions to advance on this problem and severely sanction the opportunists and pseudo-leaders, stopping them with the full force of the law," he concluded.