For the first time in nearly a century, Mexico is considering letting foreigners own land outright along the coast and near international borders. Right now, only Mexicans can hold the title to land in the so-called restricted zone. The president and many lawmakers want to relax the ownership laws in hopes of spurring a wave of foreign investment in the country.
But others are crying foul and reviving nationalistic fears of foreign invasion and domination that incited enactment of the law so many years ago.
American Ron Hess and his girlfriend are among those applauding the proposed change. They used to live in the Northern California town of Paradise. But Hess says his new home on the beach outside Rosarito, Mexico, is the real paradise.
"We just are elated; we just love it down here," he says. "The people are so friendly, the coastal environment, the climate, the beauty, you just can't put it into words."
Hess says his pension goes twice as far in Rosarito — less than 30 miles south of San Diego — as it did in the U.S. The only problem is he doesn't own the title outright to his new beloved home.
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