Two Seized Properties in Mexico City to Be Returned to Their Legal Owners, Del Valle Residents Say

Two properties seized in alleged property-dispossession cases in Mexico City could soon return to their legal owners, according to residents of the Del Valle neighborhood.

Alicia Camps of Copaco Del Valle said the properties include Cerrada Matías Romero 18, owned by resident Daneira Oviedo, whose case prompted neighborhood mobilization. Another property is located in the Coyoacán borough. Camps said the owners had already demonstrated their legal ownership and could receive possession once they contacted authorities and reached an agreement on the restitution process.

“They are already in a position to return them once the legitimate owners get in contact and reach an agreement. They will give them legal possession. They are the owners, they have already proved it, and there is no longer any legal doubt,” Camps said.

“

They are already in a position to return them once the legitimate owners get in contact and reach an agreement. They will give them legal possession. They are the owners, they have already proved it, and there is no longer any legal doubt.

Lawyer Arturo Santana said some of the properties were seized the previous day and could be returned. He added that authorities had seized four more properties in Del Valle during the month since the first meeting on the dispossession issue. A property in Iztapalapa could also be returned, although its owners must approach the authorities to continue the process.

Santana said more than 100 cases had been added to an agenda being reviewed by the Mexico City Attorney General’s Office to determine whether they involve dispossession or another matter. He said the work was progressing, although slowly because of the number of cases, and that officials had shown political and administrative willingness to address the issue.

In Oviedo’s case, proceedings against Virginia “N” and Diana “N”, the alleged occupants of the Matías Romero property, remain in the complementary investigation stage. Oviedo said the period currently lasts two months and could be extended to six. The defendants have appealed the decision bringing them to trial, seeking to overturn it and regain their freedom.

“

This agenda is moving forward. The fight is also moving a little slowly because there are many cases, but there is already political and administrative willingness to address this issue of dispossession in Mexico City.