the collective ownership of real estate by the Roman Catholic Church and the Indigenous communities. It forced "civil or ecclesiastical institutions" to sell any land that they owned, with the tenants receiving priority and generous terms for purchasing the community-held land they cultivated. The law sought to undermine the church's economic power and to force create a class of yeoman farmers of indigenous community members.

The law was envisioned as a way to develop Mexico's economy by increasing the number of indigenous private property