President Claudia Sheinbaum and former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador carried out various modifications and works in Mexico City at different periods, from the year 2000 to 2006, and again from 2018 to the present. Among these works are the inauguration of transportation systems and the expropriation of numerous lands, including the House of Aunt Tía Toña, in Chapultepec.
The building, located in the Chapultepec area, is famous for the legends that surround it during Halloween and Day of the Dead festivities. It is said that the owner killed children for their misbehavior and threw them into the river, and there are even people who claim to hear the children's screams when they approach the place. Despite these stories, the property of 1,710 square meters has withstood the test of decades and remains standing.
In 1992, the House of Aunt Tía Toña obtained an injunction that prevented its expropriation by the government of then-President Carlos Salinas de Gortari. Subsequently, under the administration of Andrés Manuel López Obrador, there was another attempt to expropriate the house, also known as 'La Guardesa', but this attempt was unsuccessful.
In 2003, when López Obrador was Head of Government of Mexico City and Claudia Sheinbaum was Secretary of the Environment, a decree was issued declaring Chapultepec Forest as an area of environmental value. Following this decree, Sheinbaum filed a lawsuit against the owning family for the alleged invasion of more than 1,700 square meters in the forest area.
In 2005, the Superior Court of Justice ruled in favor of the owning family of the House of Aunt Tía Toña, nullifying the lawsuit filed by López Obrador's government. Subsequently, Marcelo Ebrard repealed that decree, but the Environmental and Land Use Attorney's Office filed a new lawsuit against the owners for illegal occupation.
This year, just days before concluding his term as president, López Obrador delivered the remodeling of Chapultepec Forest and expropriated land belonging to the Army, although there was no mention of any intention to expropriate the House of Aunt Tía Toña.
