My understanding is that this was intended to prevent "creeping Americanization" where American companies and individuals would buy up lots of property right across the border from their existing lands, and then exercise a lot of financial and political influence in the border areas. The Mexican government in the early 20th century was leery of this because, from their perspective, this how they lost control of Texas and Alta California. Additionally, this constitutional measure needs to be seen in the context of the Mexican political elites trying to exercise their sovereignty despite being economically dominated by the United States on whom they were dependent on for most of their manufactured goods. The Mexican economy in the 1900s-1930s was still strong dominated by extractive industries (farming, ranching, mining). The "Mexican Miracle" of becoming a firmly middle-income country via import-substitution industrialization didn't really take off until the 1940s and 1950s. Additionally, the expansion of the Mexican oil industry in the later 20th century (largely still state-owned, even today) made the central government less dependent on excise taxes and tariffs (administered by border states and ports!) for it's revenues.