Irregular entrance to a property located in La Canacinta, on Lirios Street. Photo: Archive.

Editor.- At least four cases of alleged attempts of property dispossession have surfaced  in recent months in the municipality of Chapala, thanks to legitimate owners and citizens who  pointed out irregularities in the paperwork of the properties and in the actions of the  authorities and former officials involved.

The last case occurred last Wednesday, April 27, in the area of La Canacinta, west of Ajijic, on Lirios Street, where José Contreras Ortega has owned a property for approximately 55 years, which is now in court because people claiming to own the property have appeared.

Although there has been no resolution of the litigation, the supposed new owners, with the help of lawyers, workers and municipal police -who witnesses said  that they were mocking and arrogant-, forced their way onto the property containing some of Contreras Ortega’s belongings and livestock.

Both José Contreras Ortega and his relatives said that, being an elderly man and unable to read and write, these characters took advantage of him, denying that anyone other than him could read the documents they had, and only giving his family a notice of a hearing to occur.

Machine used for the attempted eviction in La Floresta, in Ajijic. Photo: Facebook.

«They wouldn’t show us anything. If it was real, they would have a judge’s verdict, eviction order or something. They just gave us a notice for a hearing that is scheduled for May. The lawyer is the one who has been handling the case, as my father does not know how to read or write, he just gives him the corresponding payments to do things,» said one of Don José’s daughters. Some other witnesses pointed out that this lawyer has been linked to irregular legal processes.

In the end, the Contreras family opted to take legal action the following day, presenting their evidence and the notification they never received, claiming they thought  that the trial was still ongoing. As a result of this situation, Contreras Ortega had to move their cattle to a property that was loaned to them next to the one where they were originally located.

On  Saturday, April 23, several people affected by the attempted dispossession met to tell their cases to the media. Both the Ibon family from Ajijic and the López family from Santa Cruz de la Soledad, along with a member of the Indigenous Community of San Antonio Tlayacapan, presented their cases, linking the Covarrubias brothers to the dispossession of Ajijic and Santa Cruz, and mentioning several former presidents involved in the Chapala ejido, which has sought to appropriate the communal land of San Antonio.

In this meeting, the names of both municipal authorities and ex-officials, as well as institutions such as the Pension Institute of the State of Jalisco (IPEJAL), were mentioned, which they described as «bribed» or «sold».

All the affected families agreed that they will  publicize all the cases and all those involved, so that precautions and actions are taken against those involved.

Translated by Patrick O’Heffernan