Considerations on the massive evictions in Mexico
The 1994 economic crisis caused many small businesses, farmers and families of workers, who had mortgage loans with privatisated banks, to go bankrupt. This then caused major inflation of over 100%. This meant that debts doubled from one day to the next and, with late interests, they were unable to pay back their loans. The ’94 economic crisis is known in Mexico as the ‘December Mistake’, but it also took place just after the crisis involving the transition from one Priist government to another.
To face this situation, the federal government decided to save foreign and privatised banks by purchasing those debts with public fiscal resources; creating the IPAB, a support institution for bank savings. But it does not apply the same measures to social debtors. In fact, the government’s action consists in saving banks and not citizens who have overdue payments. Of course, the citizens throughout the country decided to organise themselves to fight the greedy bankers who were demanding real estate properties. It should be noted also that the judges decreed a ‘fast track’ eviction for mortgage debts. We, therefore, see hundreds of daily mobilisations throughout Mexico, summoned by the citizens to protect their inheritance. Over time, they would form the National El Barzon Juridico Movement.
The injustice in Mexico as of 1998, was transformed into law, as the executive, legislative and judicial powers were in full collusion with the bosses of real estate; that is, the multinational real estate capital. They modified the civil and penal codes to protect them, from legalising the collection of interest on existing interest payments, and taking the word of the local bosses as main proof.
Now, as a result of the financial transaction networks, speculation, like that taking place now and that of 2006 and 2007, and of mortgage loans has spread among different markets. Therefore, there is an interconnection between the real estate market crisis in the United States, Thailand, Spain and Mexico, and sooner than later, it will have repercussions on each citizen who has overdue payments and it is predicted that the number of evictions will increase in the coming years. Therefore, it is possible that there will be a longer and more severe crisis when the speculative bubble - which will continue until it ruins itself- bursts; and this is associated with what is called a lack of liquidity, that is, there will be no buyers.
On the other hand, in November 2007, after the first meteorological and media impact, the rivers went too far, the hills were uprooted in the states of Tabasco and Chiapas, and the poor and marginalized once again suffered nature’s effects and the negligence of those who govern. This caused the displacement of more than a million and a half of those affected by the heavy rains. It is noteworthy that the communities with fewer economic resources, built their homes close to the water, in the bed of the same rivers and streams, in gullies and on the steep slopes of the hills and mountains. There, marginalization and the exploitative capitalist system are exposed. There have remained, because the corruption and incompetence but most of all, because the scorn of the holders of power and their servants. And, when the next hurricane, cold wind, snowfall, tropical storm, cyclone, earthquake, groundswell, the next earthquake come, when angry mother nature returns with her rains, and mud covers their possessions and their dead, they will be there. Like never before in Mexico, nature causes the massive eviction of thousands of thousands of people from their homes, as there are no previous records of documents. We are talking about more than a million five hundred thousands persons who were massively displaced by this natural tragedy that could have obviously been avoided if the governments invested heavily in disaster mitigation. Moreover, 53 deaths were recorded during the events. Climate change now obliges us to reinvent urban development and to relocate those persons who live near to rivers, seas, mountains, slopes, gullies, etc.
To end, we will add that from 2001 to present, social protest has been criminalized in Mexico and it is already a recurrent practice of the state, which applies it to everyone, from one citizen to thousands of citizens who oppose the construction of airports, mega hydraulic projects, and mega housing projects, all with the perverse aim of protecting real estate capitalist investments. Nevertheless, it is noteworthy that even with the criminalization of the of protests, these will increase day by day, to prevent massive and individual evictions; since families in Mexico who have seen others lose their housing have already learnt the lesson that the only way of avoiding eviction is by being organised and mobilised.
Cristina Almazán, UCISV-Ver
Guillermo Rodriguez, coordinator Antenna IAI-Zero Evictions for Mexico and Central America