Lerdo Law

The Lerdo Law is the common name for the Reform law formally known as the Confiscation of Law and urban Ruins of the Civil and Religious Corporations of Mexico . It was drafted by Miguel Lerdo de Tejada and issued on 25 June 1856 by deputy president Ignacio Comonfort.

The objectives of the law were to create a rural middle class, promote development, improve public finances of the state, and revive the economy by eliminating restrictions on freedom of movement. The latter was considered by Ignacio Compnfort as one of the biggest obstacles to prosperity.

The Lerdo Law provided for the confiscation of the lands held by the Catholic Church and civil corporations, and their sale to private individuals. It was expected to stimulate the market and generate government revenue through sales tax. However, the lack of capital among the lower classes meant that the main purchasers were large landowners or foreign investors, further concentrating land ownership. Religious groups and their civil corporations were prohibited from purchasing land sold under the Lerdo Law, expect those that were necessary for strictly religious purposes.

This law was part of the multiple Reform Laws that sought to establish the separation of church and state, the abolition of ecclesiastical privileges (fueros), and the secularization of registration of births, deaths and marriages (giving rise to the Civil Registry).

As stipulated in Article 8 of the Lerdo law, they were exempt from the alienation buildings used immediately and directly to the service or object institute corporations, even if somewhere is leased not separate from them, such as convents, Episcopal palaces and municipal schools, hospitals, hospices, markets, houses of correction Charities. Properties belonging to municipalities, also excepted buildings, open lands and land used exclusively for the public service of the populations they belonged.

All translations domain of rural and urban properties to be executed under the law, cause the sales tax of five percent, which was to be paid in the corresponding general government offices. Such tax contribution would be in cash and debt bonds, depending on the time it had taken in verified awards. With these policies, the Mexican government intended to increase the low level of tax revenue to which it faced and improve public finances.

The Lerdo law by requiring that civil corporations stripped of its real estate, seriously damaged the foundation of the economy of indigenous communities, which owned all the land within its boundaries. These territories represent a significant income for communities, as they generally were leased to third parties to raise funds, so that their loss further worsened the situation of many indigenous people already living in poverty.

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