The Club Campestre golf course in Tijuana, Baja California. Photo: Club Campestre

By THE PULSE NEWS MEXICO STAFF

Baja California Governor Jaime Bonilla, who famously failed in his attempt to extend his mandate three years beyond his elected two-year term, is now courting new political controversy by trying to expropriate a privately owned golf course in the middle of Tijuana.

On Monday, April 19, the leftist National Regeneration Movement (Morena) governor offered to pay the owners of the club 1.23 billion pesos to expropriate 52 hectares of its property.

Notwithstanding, the commercial value of that land is close to 12.5 billion pesos, according to real estate experts.

Speaking on behalf of Bonilla, Baja California Secretary of the Government Amador Rodríguez Lozano said Monday that the state could pay the “compensation” over a two-year period.

The sports club is located in one of the most exclusive regions of Tijuana and the price per square meter is estimated at about $1,200 , while Bonilla’s administration is offering to pay $118 per meter, that is to say, a little less than 10 percent of its real value.

Lawyer Roberto Quijano reported that the club currently has 800 members. Last week the state government published the “declaration of public utility,” with which it seeks to expropriate and turn it into a public park.

…April 21, 2021