Agrarian law, unlike other branches, does not have its origin in Roman law, since it has been considered as an autonomous law that can only be explained by our historical antecedents and that the only thing that has happened throughout history is to adapt to individual and collective needs and problems, as well as agrarian and national nuclei. Below I refer to the most common ways of holding the land, according to the corresponding historical period:
In pre-hispanic Mexico the land was held communally.
In pre-Cortesian times, property was held with a marked difference from social classes, since the Tlatoani (category that was given to the highest hierarchy) was the owner of the land and had the power to allocate it for the construction of temples, palaces, They were delivered to members of armies, nobles, warriors and also determined what would be delivered for their own use and enjoyment. There was communal land that was worked for the benefit of the community called "Calpulli" (neighborhoods), some writers consider that it is the antecedent of what we know today as a plot.
In the conquest, the conquered lands became the property of their conquerors. In our country, as it was conquered by Spain, it was called La Nueva España.
The appropriation of the lands at that time was allowed, because at the time of the conquest what was intended was to have more territories, since the extension of those they owned determined the power of each kingdom, empire and / or civilization. This conquest was governed by rules that established rights and respect for the natives of the conquered lands, unfortunately this little was respected, because our Nation is one of the many that can bear witness to it, since they were subjected, in their great Most, for violent acts and were also stripped of their lands to hand them over to the conquerors.
As an example of some of the ways in which the conquerors were allowed to strip the natives of the lands, we find the following:
THE BOOTY OF WAR. It was the appropriation of the lands of the natives who persisted in the defense of their properties and opposed the conquest. This data is interesting to highlight that when the group of natives defended and revealed themselves to be conquered and to submit and obey the conquerors, they were considered as spoils of war and therefore the conquerors had the right to take away their belongings (lands) and dispose of they.
INABILITY. When the natives were classified as barbarians (little less than human) they were declared incapable, later it was determined that they did not have the intellectual capacity to be able to administer and for that reason the lands were taken from them so that the conquerors could "administer" it, depriving them the rights over the land.
EVANGELISM. The other great mission of the Spanish Crown was to evangelize the "ignorant and profane", so they were also subject to having their lands taken away from the natives who opposed adopting the new beliefs, as they were considered enemies of war. With the evangelization in Christianity it was tried to uproot their religious beliefs such as polytheism, the worship of their deities, sacrifices, festivities, etc., which the conquerors considered heretical acts because they were contrary to their dogmas.
The Spanish Crown never approved the dispossession without cause to the natives of the conquered lands, on the contrary, it determined that the dispossession carried out without any legal reason would be considered illegitimate. Unfortunately this situation was not respected by the conquerors.