Why did Mexico establish the restricted zone?
The restricted zone is enshrined in Article 27 of the Mexican Constitution, and was designed to protect Mexico from possible invasions. While this is certainly a remote possibility today, it is important to remember that Mexico has experienced several invasions, wars, and tremendous losses of territory in its history; the restricted zone is really nothing more than a legacy of that history. From the non-Mexican investor’s perspective, the important thing to remember is that Mexico’s Foreign Investment Law was designed to facilitate the safe acquisition of coastal and border properties by non-Mexicans, and specifically designed to protect the rights of foreign owners.