Mexican Government Partially Revokes Holbox Land Deal After Ejido Wins Court Battle

Holbox, Quintana Roo — The Mexican government has partially revoked a 2016 agreement that allocated over 538,000 square meters of federal coastal land in Holbox to the National Commission of Natural Protected Areas (Conanp), following a court ruling in favor of the Ejido Península Holbox.

The decision, published in the Official Gazette of the Federation, complies with a ruling by the First Collegiate Court of the Twenty-Seventh Circuit. The ejido had filed an amparo lawsuit (Administrative Review 204/2020) arguing that the federal land designation illegally overlapped with their communal property.

The modification does not eliminate Conanp’s overall mandate for environmental protection in the Yum Balam Flora and Fauna Protection Area. Instead, it applies only to the beach and coastal zones where the boundary dispute exists.

New Technical Measurements Ordered

As a result of the ruling, the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (Semarnat) will conduct a new technical survey to precisely demarcate the contested areas along Quintana Roo’s northern coast.

Federal authorities will notify property owners, holders, and interested parties at least 15 business days in advance, allowing them to present evidence and defend their claims. Teams of specialists will then carry out topographic surveys and field measurements to update official maps, determining which strips belong to the public domain and which belong to the Ejido Península Holbox.

Delimitation Process

Under current law, the delimitation of the Federal Maritime Terrestrial Zone (Zofemat) in Holbox must follow technical criteria based on the highest high tide, calculated by observing sea behavior over 30 consecutive days during an appropriate climatic period.

Since the entire disputed area lies within Yum Balam, Semarnat and Conanp will coordinate working groups to balance legal certainty for private and ejido property with conservation of the fragile coastal ecosystem. Once the topographic studies are complete, Conanp will decide whether to confirm or modify its request for the protected lands.

The federal government said the process will resolve a long-standing conflict and provide legal certainty to the Holbox community.