312.0051/34
The Ambassador in Mexico (
Daniels
) to
the Secretary of State
No. 4074
Mexico
, November 7, 1936.
[Received
November 9.]
Sir: I have the honor to refer to my despatch
No. 4000 of October 7, 1936,28 reporting that President Cárdenas had on September
22 forwarded a draft of a new law for the expropriation of private
property to the National Congress for its consideration.
Upon receipt of this draft by the National Congress, it was referred to
the appropriate committee of the House of Representatives for
consideration. This Committee has for the past month been considering
the numerous objections to the bill presented by the various business
organizations, Chambers of Commerce, etc. The bill was reported out of
committee and passed by the Chamber of Deputies on November 3 with but
slight changes.
Under Article I which provides what shall be considered as of public use
for the purposes of the law, there is added: “The conservation of places
of scenic beauty, of antiques and objects of art, of buildings and
monuments, of archeological interests, and of those things which may be
considered as outstanding in our national culture”.
Article X which fixes the compensation to the owner remains the same,
that is, that compensation for property expropriated shall be based upon
the declared fiscal value for tax purposes and leaves only the
improvements or deterioration of the property after the date of the
declaration of its fiscal value by the owner, subject to review and
decision by the courts.
Article XIX provides that compensation shall be paid the owner when the
property expropriated passes to the control of the State, but Article XX
appears to modify this provision by stating that “The authority which
carries out the expropriation shall fix the manner and [Page 720] terms in which the compensation must be
paid, which shall never exceed a period of ten years”.
Three copies (in translation) of this bill as approved by the Chamber of
Deputies on November 3 are enclosed herewith. These translations were
obtained through the courtesy of Mr. Armstrong, Secretary of the
Association of Producers of Petroleum in Mexico, which organization
specializes in the translation of important legislation for the benefit
of its members.
The Headquarters of the National Revolutionary Party published in the Mexican News Letter a statement made by Sanchez
Tapia, Secretary of the Department of National Economy, defending and
justifying the proposed expropriation law. Three copies of this
statement are enclosed herewith.29 The statement points out that the new bill is
intended merely to take the place of a similar law promulgated on
November 3, 1905 during the Díaz regime and that the new bill will bring
the old law in accord with Article 27 of the Federal Constitution of
1917, and that it gives but very little more authority to the Federal
Government. The statement tries to reassure property owners that they
have nothing to fear from the new law and that if they were able to
conduct their business honestly under the old law they will be able to
do so equally under the new.
It is understood that the Commercial Attaché is analyzing the bill and
forwarding separate copies to the Department of Commerce.
Respectfully yours,
[Enclosure—Translation]
Text of the “Federal Law of Expropriation on
Grounds of Public Welfare” As Passed by the Chamber of Deputies,
November 3, 1936
-
Article 1. The following shall be
considered as of public use:
- I—
- The establishment, exploitation and maintenance of any
public utility;
- II—
- The opening, widening or straightening of streets,
construction of roads, bridges, highways and tunnels
which facilitate urban or suburban travel;
- III—
- The beautification, enlargement and sanitation of
cities and ports; the construction of hospitals,
schools, parks, gardens, fields for recreation and
landing fields, and of any other work designed to render
services for the general good;
- IV—
- The conservation of places of scenic beauty, of
antiques and objects of art, of buildings and monuments
of archaeologic interest and of those things which may
be considered as outstanding in our national
culture;
- V—
- The supplying of general necessities in times of war
or civil strife; the provisioning of cities and centers
of population with food [Page 721] and other necessary articles of
consumption; and the processes employed to combat or
prevent the spread of epidemics, fires, plagues, floods
or other public disasters;
- VI—
- The means employed for national defense or for the
maintenance of public safety;
- VII—
- The conservation, development or utilization of the
natural resources capable of industrial
exploitation;
- VIII—
- The equal distribution of wealth held and monopolized
to the exclusive advantage of a few persons with
prejudice to society in general or to any particular
social class;
- IX—
- The establishment, maintenance or conservation of an
industrial concern for the good of society;
- X—
- The means necessary to prevent the destruction of
natural resources and the damages which private property
may suffer to the detriment of the general good;
- XI—
- The creation or improvement of centers of
manufacturing population and of their sources of
livelihood;
- XII—
- Such other cases as are enumerated in special
laws.
-
Article 2. In all of the cases cited in
Article 1, following declaration by the Federal Executive, the
expropriation, temporary, total or partial occupation or
ordinary limitation of the right of private property shall be
carried out for the ends of the State or in the interests of
society in general.
-
Article 3. The Federal Executive shall
deal with the case of expropriation, temporary occupation or
limitation of the right of private property through the agency
of the proper Secretariat of State, Administrative Department or
Territorial Government and shall, in every case, issue the
respective declaration.
-
Article 4. The declaration referred to
in the preceding Article shall be made by means of a notice
which shall be published in the Diario Oficial
de la Federación and which shall be brought to the
personal attention of the interested party. In the event the
domicile of the party is not known, a second publication in the
Diario Oficial shall be considered as
having fulfilled the requirement of personal
notification.
-
Article 5. The owners affected may,
within the fifteen working days following such notification,
resort to administrative action for revocation of the
declaration of expropriation.
-
Article 6. Administrative recourse for
revocation shall be taken before the Secretariat of State,
Administrative Department or Territorial Government which may
have dealt with the case of expropriation, temporary occupation
or limitation of the right of private property.
-
Article 7. If administrative action for
revocation to which Article 5 refers has not been employed or if
such action has been decided against the claims of the
appellant, the proper administrative authority shall immediately
carry out the seizure of the property whose [Page 722] expropriation or temporary
occupation is concerned, or shall order the immediate execution
of the due processes of limitation of the right of private
property.
-
Article 8. In the cases to which
Fractions V, VI and X of Article 1 of this Law refer, the
Federal Executive may, upon making the declaration, order the
seizure of the property subject to expropriation or temporary
occupation or impose the immediate execution of the processes of
limitation of the right of private property, without
administrative action for revocation delaying the occupation of
the property concerned or the execution of the processes of
limitation of the right of private property.
-
Article 9. If the properties concerned
in the declaration of expropriation, temporary occupation or
limitation of the right of private property were not employed to
the ends which gave cause to the corresponding declaration
within a period of five years, the owner affected may claim the
return of the property and the withdrawal of the notification of
temporary occupation or of limitation of the right of private
property.
-
Article 10. The sum which shall be
fixed as compensation for the goods seized shall be based on the
amount declared as fiscal value to the tax or cadastral offices,
since this value has been manifested by the owner or accepted,
expressly or tacitly, by him in paying his taxes on this basis.
The excess or demerit which the private property may have
undergone by reason of the improvements or deterioration after
the date of the assignment of fiscal value shall be the only
point subject to the decision of the Courts and the judgment of
experts. This same procedure shall be observed when the case
concerns articles whose value has not been established by the
tax offices.
-
Article 11. When the amount of
compensation to which the preceding article refers is in
dispute, the case shall be taken to the proper Court, which
shall give the parties three days in which to name their
experts, on penalty, if they fail to make such appointment, that
the Court will itself make such appointment in default. The
parties will also be notified to name jointly a third expert in
case of conflict; upon failure to do so, such expert will be
named by the Court.
-
Article 12. No recourse shall be taken
against the judgment of the Court which selects the
experts.
-
Article 13. In the event of refusal to
serve, death or incapacity of any of the experts designated,
those responsible shall make a new selection within a period of
three days.
-
Article 14. The fees of each expert
shall be paid by the party which appoints him and the fee for
the third expert shall be paid by both parties.
-
Article 15. The Court shall fix a
period which may not exceed sixty days in which the experts
shall render their report.
-
Article 16. When the experts are in
agreement on the valuation of the improvements or deterioration,
the Court shall immediately fix the amount of compensation; in
the event of nonagreement it shall summon the third expert who
shall render his report within a period set by the Court which
may not exceed thirty days. Having the reports of the experts
before it, the Court shall, within a period of ten days, take
such action as it deems proper.
-
Article 17. No legal recourse shall lie
against the Court decision fixing the amount of compensation
and, thereupon, the corresponding public deed shall be drawn up
which shall be signed by the interested party, or, on his
refusal, by the Court.
-
Article 18. If the occupation be
temporary the amount of compensation shall be subject to the
judgment of experts and Court decision following the procedure
established in this Law. This same procedure shall be followed
in cases of limitation of the right of private property.
-
Article 19. The value of the
compensation shall be paid by the State when the article
expropriated passes to its control. When the article
expropriated passes to the control of a person distinct from the
State, this person shall pay the compensation. These
dispositions shall be carried out in cases of temporary
occupation or limitation of the right of private property as
well.
-
Article 20. The authority which carries
out the expropriation shall fix the manner and terms in which
the compensation must be paid, which shall never exceed a period
of ten years.
-
Article 21. This Law is of Federal
application in the cases in which it tends to reach an end
toward the fulfillment of which the Nation is held responsible
according to the Constitutional provisions, and also in cases of
limitation of the right of private property; it is of local
application for the Federal District and the Federal
Territories.