Ejido Residents Block Federal Highway in Quintana Roo Over Unpaid Land Compensation

Chetumal, Quintana Roo — Residents of the Ramonal and Sacxan ejidos in the municipality of Othón P. Blanco blocked Federal Highway 186 on Wednesday, demanding payment for land the federal government expropriated more than five decades ago.

The protesters halted traffic at the Francisco Villa ejido, saying they were acting in support of negotiations their representatives are holding with federal agencies in Mexico City. They said the highway would be closed in 20-minute intervals, reopening for 20 minutes at a time, until they receive an answer.

After holding an ejido assembly to review the status of the talks, residents decided to take to the highway with banners and cardboard signs laying out their demand. “We remain ready to fight until they pay us a fair price,” they said.

A 1974 Expropriation Still Unresolved

The dispute centers on 95 hectares of ejido land expropriated in 1974 for a stretch of Federal Highway 186, which runs along the Chetumal–Escárcega corridor. Despite years of negotiations, federal authorities have not settled the case.

Representatives of the two ejidos, who belong to the National Transporters Association (ANTAC), asked this week for a formal dialogue table and for a fresh review of the appraisal carried out by the Institute for the Administration and Valuation of National Assets (Indaabin), which they say does not reflect the real value of the land.

They are calling on the relevant authorities to step in and set up a working group that includes the legitimate representatives of both ejidos. Such a group, they said, would allow officials to define the exact area affected and the corresponding sums, complete the full payment and publish a schedule setting out commitments, deadlines and the institutions responsible.

Ejido members said Wednesday afternoon that they would not accept less than the amounts paid to other ejidos whose land was affected by the Maya Train, the government railway project that has already compensated some landowners.