| Resumo: | This article presents a review of the role of legal institutions in the transformation of ownership relations in the downtown area of Mexico City as of the 1985 earthquake, i.e., in the change of status of certain individuals from tenants to property owners brought about by the Program for Renovating Lower-class Housing. First the author examines the antecedents and legal and political implications of the decree expropriating more than four thousand pieces of property, which determined the scope of the program. Then he describes the Agreement for Democratic Action in the Reconstruction of Housing Units of the Program for Renovating Lower-class Housing, stressing the contrast between its political significance and its lack of legal validity. He also discusses ownership in "neighborhood- type" condominiums, which are treated in a new chapter of the housing law, paying particular attention to the ideological debates on this subject that took place in the Cámara de Diputados (House of Deputies). Lastly, he refers briefly to the juicios de amparo filed by numerous property owners affected by expropriation, and points out the importance of these as a hindrance to the execution of the housing renovation program.
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