The Baja California state Congress voted 18-5 on April 23 to approve the sale of eight parcels of public land in Mexicali totaling 13.6 hectares, with no designated purpose for the 32 million pesos (roughly $1.6 million USD) the sale is expected to generate.
The parcels are located in residential developments including Sesvania, Quinta del Centro, and San Francisco. Once sold, the state-owned land will pass into private hands. Opposition lawmakers from PAN (Partido Acción Nacional), PT (Partido del Trabajo), and Movimiento Ciudadano voted against the measure.
Opposition Demanded Budget Earmark Before Vote
Before the roll call, opposition legislators pressed the Morena majority to attach the expected revenue to a specific budget line, program, or capital project. They argued that approving a land sale without a committed destination for the money left no mechanism for public accountability.
Morena’s majority rejected that demand. Instead, the approved decree includes only a “transitorio,” a provisional clause requiring the state government to return to Congress after the sale and report how the proceeds were spent. Critics say that structure inverts normal budget practice: the money is collected first, and its use is decided later, with no binding obligation to spend it on any particular item.
What the Vote Means for Mexicali
The eight parcels span neighborhoods in Mexicali’s urban core and outlying residential zones. Transferring 13.6 hectares of public land to private ownership could affect future planning decisions in those communities, including access to green space or sites reserved for public facilities.
At 32 million pesos for 13.6 hectares, the average price works out to roughly 2.35 million pesos (about $118,000 USD) per hectare. Whether that figure reflects fair market value in Mexicali’s real estate market was not addressed in the legislative debate as reported.
The 18-5 vote fell along predictable lines. Morena and its allies control a comfortable majority in the Baja California Congress, and opposition parties lacked the numbers to block or amend the measure. The provisional reporting requirement remains the only safeguard written into the decree.
This story was first reported by Punto Norte.