Skipjack Joe - 9-15-2004 at 12:41 PM
The Johnson family would like the following statement explaining the family's position on the current ejido land
dispute involving the property on which their historic hotel is located.
The family requests that this official statement be given the widest
possible dissemination in the Baja sportfishing community, so I am posting it here:
ENGLISH TRANSLATION (UNOFFICIAL):
August 2004, Mulege, B.C.S.
TO OUR FRIENDS AND PATRONS:
Due to the diverse information that has been published and broadcasted by
the media in the State of Baja California Sur with regard to the lawsuit
filed by the Ejido Mulege 20 de Noviembre (Ejido: Common land given by the
government to a group of persons to farm and use) against myself, Nancy
Ugalde Gorosave de Johnson and my husband Donald Johnson, wherein we have
been ordered and sentenced by the 39th Unitary Agrarian District Court with
residence in the city of La Paz, B.C.S., to vacate and deliver the facility
wherein the Hotel Serenidad is established, in the county of Mulege, Baja
California Sur, we consider we owe an explanation pertaining this matter to
all sectors and members of the Baja California Sur community as well as to
our friends and clients across Mexico and the United States and the
companies, groups and individuals that for nearly forty years have been
patrons of the Hotel Serenidad, we are committed to providing clear and
precise information regarding the problem we are currently facing as a
family and as a business.
We have dedicated our lives to create and promote tourism through a company
we have proudly established and operated not only to the benefit of the
County of Mulege but also for that of the State of Baja California.
Our problems began in 1982 when we were offered for sale the land and
facilities where the Hotel Serenidad is established, through a program
implemented in the County of Mulege by CORETT, (commission for
regularization of ownership for the land) in good faith and without
misleading anyone, we were informed that said facilities had been used many
years before for tourist purposes, and that they had been expropriated from
the Ejido Mulege by the Federal Government, we trustfully agreed to enter
into said transaction, we invested our resources and dedicated our time and
energy to develop this tourist attraction, widely known not only locally but
nationally and internationally.
From the time we purchased from CORETT we operated the hotel, and 1996 they
invaded us and found out we had a registered title and they started a demand
in year 2000 to annul our title at the unitary agrarian court with resident
in La Paz. Then we found out that the ejido Ejido Mulege had been granted an
amparo against the 1976 expropriation decree in virtue that the area
expropriated and delivered to CORETT was not the correct one in accordance
with said expropriation decree. We were never duly notified of the referred
amparo proceeding until the year 2000, in which through said lawsuit an
amparo was granted in favor of the Ejido, a relocation of the expropriated
land was made to another land area owned by the Ejido, in virtue of these
proceedings undertaken without our knowledge, as third acquiring parties, we
have been instructed to deliver the hotel facilities to the Ejido.
We consider the lawsuit and the sentence issued against us by the Agrarian
Courts not only to be unjust but illegal, we find it extremely odd that a
federal entity such as CORETT has sided with the Ejido to support them in a
petition related to an action in which they in fact duly offered and
formalized the sale of the facilities in question to the Johnson family.
This is a grave matter for it not only damages our patrimony, but also our
reputation and the high respect we have earned as a family and a company in
the State of Baja California Sur, always serving and supporting the national
and foreign tourism; we are also astounded by the fact that the Ejido
initiated a legal procedure to relocate the expropriated lands and the
location of the property sold to us as acquiring parties of the Hotel
Serenidad, without us ever being notified by CORETT nor by the Agrarian
Ministry or the Federal Judicial Authorities that illegally granted an
amparo on behalf of the Ejido. We find unjust the entire procedure through
which we are being ordered to vacate and abandon the legally acquired
patrimony.
The decree issued in August 1976 has been executed first in November 1976,
later in October 1982 and finally in November 1996, in neither of these last
two executions, has it been stated the first one was annulled and served no
further legal effects, we have never understood why if the Hotel Serenidad
was included in the first decree the agrarian authorities supported by
CORETT and the Agrarian Ministry, deny and do not recognize the purchase
contract through which we acquired our patrimony, without ever annulling the
first execution that proves CORETT was in fact the owner of the property we
legally acquired. As buyers and investors, we have been economically and
morally injured by the referred government entity, our patrimony, security
and investment confidence has been severely damaged and we have been victims
of the acts committed by said entity and by the Ejido, who have made us out
to be the ones victimizing them.
We will continue to fight until justice is made, we disagree with all the
procedures and are sure we will be heard and protected by the judicial
authorities, without any consideration to the interest of those who intend
to make of a duly established company, a mockery of unscrupulous politicians
and leaders that are altering the truth of these facts and are taking
advantage of the patrimony created with the work and effort of our family.
Sincerely,
Mrs. Nancy Ugalde Gorosave de Johnson
Mr. Donald Johnson
**********
SPANISH VERSION:
Muleg?, B.C.S. agosto del 2004.
A QUIEN CORRESPONDA:
Con motivo de diversas informaciones que se han venido difundiendo a trav?s
de medios de informaci?n en el Estado de Baja California Sur, respecto de la
demanda presentada por el Ejido Muleg? 20 de Noviembre en contra de la
suscrita Nancy Ugalde Gorosave de Johnson y mi esposo Donald Johnson, y en
donde se nos ha reclamado y sentenciado por el Tribunal Unitario Agrario del
Distrito 39 con residencia en la ciudad de la Paz, B.C.S., para que
desocupemos y entreguemos las instalaciones del Hotel Serenidad que se
encuentra ubicado en el Municipio de Muleg? Baja California Sur,
consideramos que en respuesta al apoyo que se nos ha brindado por muchos
sectores y miembros de la comunidad de Baja California Sur, as? como de
diversas partes de nuestro pa?s y principalmente por empresas, grupos y
personas en lo individual, que como turistas han tenido acceso a los
servicios y a las instalaciones del Hotel Serenidad, estamos comprometidos a
proporcionar una informaci?n clara, precisa y transparente del problema que
actualmente estamos viviendo como familia y como empresarios, que hemos
dedicado toda nuestra vida a servir como promotores y empresarios del
turismo en una empresa que con mucho orgullo estamos desarroll?ndola en
beneficio no solo del Municipio de Muleg?, sino tambi?n en el Estado de Baja
California Sur.
Nuestras penas empezaron, cuando de buena fe y sin haber enga?ado a nadie,
con motivo de un programa implementado por CORETT en el Municipio de Muleg?,
se nos ofreci? en el a?o de 1982 en venta las instalaciones y el predio en
donde se encuentra ubicado el Hotel Serenidad, habi?ndosenos informado que
al haber estado ocupando desde muchos a?os atr?s estas instalaciones, las
cuales se hab?an dedicado a fomentar la actividad tur?stica en nuestro
municipio, y en virtud de que el espacio que ocupan las instalaciones hab?a
sido expropiado por el Gobierno Federal al Ejido Muleg?, accedimos confiados
en este ofrecimiento, y de esta manera invertimos recursos y dedicamos todo
nuestro tiempo y trabajo a proyectar esta empresa tur?stica, ampliamente
conocida a nivel local e internacional. En estas condiciones, a partir de la
compraventa que hicimos a CORETT, estuvimos trabajando hasta el a?o 2000,
fecha en la cual fuimos enterados por el Tribunal Unitario Agrario con
residencia en la Paz, Baja California, que el Ejido Muleg? se ampar? contra
el decreto expropiatorio en el a?o de 1992 por considerar que el espacio que
se expropi? y entreg? a CORETT no era el correcto conforme al decreto
expropiatorio, y de este procedimiento de amparo nunca tuvimos conocimiento
sino hasta el a?o 2000, en que a trav?s de esta demanda aparece que el
amparo favoreci? al ejido y de que se hizo una reubicaci?n del terreno
expropiado en otra ?rea del terreno que pertenece al ejido, por lo que en
base a estos procedimientos que se siguieron a nuestra espalda como terceros
adquirentes de buena fe, se nos ha pedido que desalojemos y entreguemos las
instalaciones del hotel al ejido.
Desde luego que nosotros hemos considerado ilegal e injusta la demanda y la
sentencia que han pronunciado los Tribunales Agrarios en nuestra contra,
primeramente porque resulta un tanto extra?o que una empresa federal
denominada CORETT se haya aliado al ejido para favorecerlos en una petici?n,
en donde por otra parte fueron ellos mismos quienes ofrecieron y otorgaron
con las formalidades de ley la compraventa de las instalaciones a la familia
Johnson. Este hecho es sumamente grave, porque no solo da?a nuestro
patrimonio, sino tambi?n nuestra reputaci?n y buena fama que como familia y
empresarios hemos tenido de una manera intachable en el Estado de Baja
California Sur, siempre sirviendo y apoyando al turismo nacional y
extranjero; por otra parte, tambi?n nos llama poderosamente la atenci?n,
como fue que el ejido inici? un procedimiento para reubicar los terrenos
expropiados y en donde se encuentra el predio vendido de buena fe a nosotros
como adquirentes del Hotel Serenidad, sin que nunca se nos haya notificado
por la empresa CORETT, por la Secretar?a de la Reforma Agraria y por las
autoridades Judiciales Federales que ampararon ileg?timamente al ejido. Y
decimos que es incorrecto todo este procedimiento en el cual se nos pretende
desalojar y privar del patrimonio legalmente adquirido, porque el decreto
expropiatorio de agosto de 1976, se ha ejecutado primeramente en noviembre
de 1976, en octubre de 1982 y en noviembre de 1996, y en ninguna de estas
dos ultimas ejecuciones, se ha dicho que la primera ejecuci?n se anula y
haya quedado invalidada, raz?n por la cual si en la primera ejecuci?n ya
estaba incluido el Hotel Serenidad, nunca hemos entendido porque las
autoridades judiciales agrarias, apoyadas por CORETT y la Secretar?a de la
Reforma Agraria, niegan y desconocen el contrato de compraventa en el cual
adquirimos nuestro patrimonio, sin que jam?s se haya nulificado la primera
ejecuci?n que acredita que CORETT era propietaria del inmueble que
leg?timamente adquirimos de esta empresa. Por lo tanto, como adquirentes e
inversionistas de buena fe, hemos sido lesionados econ?mica y moralmente por
esta empresa, porque no solo se ha afectado a nuestro patrimonio, a la
seguridad y certeza de la inversi?n, sino porque tambi?n hemos sido victimas
de esta empresa y del ejido para hacernos aparecer como victimantes y no
como v?ctimas de toda esta justicia desvirtuada por ellos mismos.
Lucharemos hasta el final y hasta que se nos haga justicia, porque no
estamos de acuerdo en todos estos procedimientos y estamos seguros de que
seremos escuchados y protegidos legalmente por autoridades judiciales
independientes, sin compromiso con los intereses de quienes ahora pretenden
hacer de una empresa fortalecida moral y legalmente, un bot?n de pol?ticos y
de lideres que no tienen escr?pulos en alterar la verdad de estos hechos y
de aprovecharse del patrimonio que se ha forjado con el esfuerzo de nuestra
familia.
Atentamente
SRA. NANCY UGALDE GOROSAVE DE JOHNSON
SR. DONALD JOHNSON
**************
David K - 9-15-2004 at 05:54 PM
I wanted to say that this letter from Nancy Johnson was also sent to me by Gene Kira, via my web host Dick Van Bree to make known to as many Baja
folks as possible.
So it seems to be quite valid, and very sad for the town of Mulege.
But, it is not over until it is over... let's hope and pray for Don & Nancy as well as the entire town of Mulege which also benefits from the
Serenidad staying in business.
Here are some photos from the recent 40th year in business party at the Serenidad:
http://community-2.webtv.net/boojum1/serenidad/
tim40 - 9-15-2004 at 07:26 PM
Does anyone know what the plan is for the hotel if utlimately it must be returned?
I know it would go against my grain, but have they attempted to just buy the hotel again from the Ejido?