Mexican Agrarian Reform and the United States

Abstract

Fifty years of agrarian reform has brought many changes to Mexico, but it has by no means solved all her problems. The land was divided and given to the peon. This attack on the latifundia, the large land holding, was carried on by many presidents which created the problem of the minifundia, or- small land holding. Many of these plots are so small that the farmer can barely survive. The hope that the small farmers would band together into a large federation has been unsuccessful to date. While agrarian reform primarily means the redistribution of land, many do not realize that the agrarian reform also comprises credit, investment, irrigation, crop rotation, mechanization, electrification, fertilizing,, soil conservation, and the organization necessary for all their operation. Much land has been turned over to the peons, but most of this is grazing land, forest, or uncultivable land. The problem which the agrarian reform faces now is the laok of land which can be distributed to the people. [From concluding section]