The mayor of Tepoztlán and the Secretary of Government of Morelos ask Fernández Noroña to regularize property.

The property worth 12 million pesos owned by Morena Senator Gerardo Fernández Noroña remains in the public eye.

Tepoztlán Mayor Perseo Quiroz stated that following the publication of a property tax payment receipt by Senator Fernández Noroña, the status of the property, which was not registered, is being verified.

First, because it didn't have a number and was in an unidentified neighborhood, and the payment was made by credit card.

Quiroz stated that the property's payment is being tracked and that action will be taken if any outstanding debts arise. He clarified that the lack of such information is common practice.

He recalled that Fernández Noroña had revealed that the owner of the land is a foreign citizen, which he confirmed and clarified that the properties in the municipality "are not purchased... all property in Tepoztlán is social property."

He noted that there is no private property, adding that 80% of the territory is communal property and 20% is ejido property. He stated that to achieve this, the municipality of Tepoztlán should have entered into land tenure regularization programs, which has not been done.

He pointed out that while outsiders claim to own their properties in the municipality, notaries public are made aware that what they execute is "a contract for the transfer of possession rights over the real estate, not a contract of sale."

He acknowledged that there is "great pressure" from real estate speculation in Tepoztlán and that urban development has been hampered for a long time, so the Noroña case is not unique.

He stated that the "transfer of possession rights" grants the person the right to use the property, to lease it, but this does not belong to the buyer and remains social property, even with the passage of time, and cannot be seized.

The mayor reiterated that the senator should be paying for the rights to the property, but it has not been acquired.

In an interview with Proceso, Morelos' Secretary of Government, Juan Salgado Brito, expressed his desire to avoid confrontations and "strident noises" that upset residents.

Salgado Brito stated that there are "very important" people who own homes in Tepoztlán, such as politicians, businesspeople, social leaders, and academics, so he avoided suggesting that the conflict between Fernández Noroña and the authorities would escalate.

"It's a matter of them getting up to speed, period," he said.