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30-502: Zapatismo is primarily concerned with land reform and land redistribution according to the Plan of Ayala and the Agrarian Law written in 1915, signed by Manuel Palafox. Such documents confirmed the right of the citizen to be able to possess and cultivate the land, that lands were to be fairly returned to indigenous peasant farmers, villages were to retain the right to maintain ejidos . This was

60-472: A component of agricultural economics and policy, with a specific impact on rural sociology, and broader than land reform, describing agrarian reform as: Reforms covering all aspects of agrarian institutions, including land reform, production and supporting services structure, public administration in rural areas, rural social welfare and educational institutions, etc. Cousins defines the difference between agrarian reform and land reform as follows: Land reform…

90-792: A country's land laws can still be an intensely political process, as reforming land policies serves to change relationships within and between communities, as well as between communities and the state. Thus even small-scale land reforms and legal modifications may be subject to intense debate or conflict. Land ownership and tenure can be perceived as controversial in part because ideas defining what it means to access or control land, such as through "land ownership" or "land tenure", can vary considerably across regions and even within countries. Land reforms, which change what it means to control land, therefore create tensions and conflicts between those who lose and those who gain from these redefinitions (see next section). Western conceptions of land have evolved over

120-615: A direct response to the encroachment faced during the Porfiriato . The Zapatistas and many rural peasants opposed Porfirio Díaz 's efforts at land privatization of previously communal lands because the small plots hindered the ability to plant enough maize and staple crops to survive the year. Zapatismo called for a broader better system in which land claims can be processed and collective lands can be returned to their respective communities. The motto of Zapatismo "Liberty, Justice, and Law," later altered to "Reform, Liberty, Justice, and Law,"

150-586: A national hero after his death. The face of Emiliano Zapata became representative of Zapatismo as a whole and his image would be called upon whenever land reform was brought to the table. After Mexico signed the North American Free Trade Agreement , the Zapatista Army of National Liberation ( EZLN ) would declare war on the Mexican government. Their ideology ( Neozapatismo ) would be similar to

180-584: A slight against Zapata and Zapatismo as a whole. Fearing the ramifications of having a reputation as a bandit, Zapata would attempt to enforce rules barring troops from looting the poor. The ideals of Zapatismo spread throughout Mexico during the Mexican Revolution, but the army was localized in the state of Morelos and subsequently, Zapatismo ideals were mostly practiced and enforced just in the state of Morelos. The ideals of Zapatismo were mocked and frowned upon by Francisco I. Madero , who gave permission for

210-786: A village community. Different people in a family or community had different rights to access this land for different purposes and at different times. Such rights were often conveyed through oral history and not formally documented. These different ideas of land ownership and tenure are sometimes referred to using different terminology. For example, "formal" or "statutory" land systems refer to ideas of land control more closely affiliated with individual land ownership. "Informal" or "customary" land systems refer to ideas of land control more closely affiliated with land tenure. Terms dictating control over and use of land can therefore take many forms. Some specific examples of present-day or historic forms of formal and informal land ownership include: Land reform

240-559: Is a commonly cited example of the perils of such large-scale reforms, whereby land redistribution contributed to economic decline and increased food insecurity in the country. In cases where land reform has been enacted as part of socialist collectivization , many of the arguments against collectivization more generally apply. An early example of land reform was the Irish Land Acts of 1870–1909. Most all newly independent countries of Eastern and Central Europe implemented land reforms in

270-507: Is a deeply political process and therefore many arguments for and against it have emerged. These arguments vary tremendously over time and place. In the twentieth century, many land reforms emerged from a particular political ideology, such as communism or socialism. In the 19th century in colonized states, a colonial government may have changed the laws dictating land ownership to better consolidate political power or to support its colonial economy. In more recent times, electoral mobilization and

300-536: Is an intensely political process. Thus, many of those opposed to land reform are nervous as to the underlying motivations of those initiating the reform. For example, some may fear that they will be disadvantaged or victimized as a result of the reforms. Others may fear that they will lose out in the economic and political power struggles (especially in under developed countries) that underlie many land reforms. Other groups and individuals express concerns about land reforms focused on formalization of property rights. While

330-678: Is believed to have been borrowed, if not heavily influenced by Ricardo Flores Magón 's anarchist newspaper Regeneración . It reflected the popular phrase used by the Mexican Liberal Party , " Tierra y Libertad ," in English, " Land and Liberty ." Zapatismo is also associated with banditry . It was a common tactic for Zapatista forces to ransack the wealthy land-owning elite in Mexico. Banditry within troops would become an increasing problem, something that Francisco I. Madero would call out and use as

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360-427: Is concerned with rights in land, and their character, strength and distribution, while… [agrarian reform] focuses not only on these but also a broader set of issues: the class character of the relations of production and distribution in farming and related enterprises, and how these connect to the wider class structure. It is thus concerned economic and political power and the relations between them… Along similar lines,

390-503: The Constitutional Convention of Querétaro . Article 27 in particular would accomplish one of the many goals of Zapatismo. It mandated the return of the lands that were privatized and taken under the control of Porfirio Díaz. It also stated that land can be taken away if it wasn't put to good use and be given to the public instead. Article 123 included labor rights for all workers, child labor laws, and laws protecting women in

420-491: The agrarian system of the country, which often includes land reform measures. Agrarian reform can include credit measures, training, extension , land consolidations , etc. The World Bank evaluates agrarian reform using five dimensions: (1) stocks and market liberalization, (2) land reform (including the development of land markets), (3) agro-processing and input supply channels, (4) urban finance, (5) market institutions. The United Nations thesaurus sees agrarian reform as

450-406: The Plan of Ayala to be published so that, "everyone will know how crazy that Zapata is." Zapatismo clashed with the ideologies of Venustiano Carranza and Francisco I. Madero because it was antithetical to the idea that the Mexican Revolution was the creation of the urban working class. Zapatismo would have an influence on the 1917 Mexican Constitution due to the sheer number of radical delegates at

480-511: The aftermath of World War I . In most countries, the land in excess of certain limits (20–500 ha (49–1,236 acres), depending on the region and type of land) was expropriated; in Finland , it was redeemed and placed into a special fund. Agrarian reform Agrarian reform can refer either, narrowly, to government-initiated or government-backed redistribution of agricultural land (see land reform ) or, broadly, to an overall redirection of

510-688: The economic and pro-poor benefits of increased formalized land rights are still inconclusive according to some critics (see "Arguments against land reform" below). Other arguments in support of land reform point to the need to alleviate conflicting land laws, particularly in former colonies, where formal and informal land systems may exist in tension with each other. Such conflicts can make marginalized groups vulnerable to further exploitation. For example, in many countries in Africa with conflicting land laws, AIDS stigmatization has led to an increasing number of AIDS widows being kicked off marital land by in-laws. While

540-583: The economic and social benefits of formalized land rights are often touted, some research suggests that such reforms are either ineffective or may cause further hardship or conflict. Additional arguments against land reform focus on concerns over equity issues and potential elite capture of land, particularly in regards to reforms focused on greater land formalization. If improperly or inadequately implemented, critics worry that such reforms may further disadvantage marginalized groups such as indigenous communities or women. These concerns also lead to questions about

570-437: The great owners, who must lose their land in an upheaval, the great owners with access to history, with eyes to read history and to know the great fact: when property accumulates in too few hands it is taken away. And that companion fact: when a majority of the people are hungry and cold they will take by force what they need. And the little screaming fact that sounds through all history: repression works only to strengthen and knit

600-507: The institutional capacity of governments to implement land reforms as they are designed. Even if a country does have this capacity, critics worry that corruption and patrimonialism will lead to further elite capture . In looking at more radical reforms, such as large-scale land redistribution, arguments against reform include concerns that redistributed land will not be used productively and that owners of expropriated land will not be compensated adequately or compensated at all. Zimbabwe, again,

630-492: The land will be better stewards of it. Land reforms carried out in Japan, Taiwan and South Korea are credited with contributing to the industrial development. The equitable distribution of land led to increasing agricultural outputs, high rural purchasing power and social mobility. Many of the arguments in support of land reform speak to its potentially positive social and economic outcomes. Yet, as mentioned previously, land reform

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660-415: The more powerful to the less powerful, such as from a relatively small number of wealthy or noble owners with extensive land holdings (e.g., plantations, large ranches, or agribusiness plots) to individual ownership by those who work the land. Such transfers of ownership may be with or without compensation; compensation may vary from token amounts to the full value of the land. Land reform may also entail

690-463: The original Zapatismo of the Mexican Revolution but includes additional feminist and anti-neoliberal sentiments. Land reform Land reform is a form of agrarian reform involving the changing of laws, regulations, or customs regarding land ownership . Land reform may consist of a government-initiated or government-backed property redistribution , generally of agricultural land. Land reform can, therefore, refer to transfer of ownership from

720-415: The past several centuries to place greater emphasis on individual land ownership, formalized through documents such as land titles. Control over land may also be perceived less in terms of individual ownership and more in terms of land use , or through what is known as land tenure. Historically, in many parts of Africa for example, land was not owned by an individual, but rather used by an extended family or

750-594: The poor in formal legal and economic systems, increase the poor's ability to access credit and contribute to economic growth and poverty reduction. Many international development organizations and bilateral and multilateral donors, such as the World Bank, have embraced de Soto's ideas, or similar ideas, about the benefits of greater formalized land rights. This has translated into a number of development programs that work with governments and civil society organizations to initiate and implement land reforms. Evidence to support

780-702: The repressed. Arguments in support of such reforms gained particular momentum after the publication of The Mystery of Capital: Why Capitalism Triumphs in the West and Fails Everywhere Else by Peruvian economist Hernando de Soto in 2000. The poor, he argues, are often unable to secure formal property rights, such as land titles, to the land on which they live or farm because of poor governance, corruption and/or overly complex bureaucracies. Without land titles or other formal documentation of their land assets, they are less able to access formal credit. Political and legal reforms within countries, according to de Soto, will help to include

810-683: The transfer of land from individual ownership—even peasant ownership in smallholdings —to government-owned collective farms; it has also, in other times and places, referred to the exact opposite: division of government-owned collective farms into smallholdings. The common characteristic of all land reforms is modification or replacement of existing institutional arrangements governing possession and use of land. Thus, while land reform may be radical in nature, such as through large-scale transfers of land from one group to another, it can also be less dramatic, such as regulatory reforms aimed at improving land administration. Nonetheless, any revision or reform of

840-530: The use of land as a patronage resource have been proposed as possible motivations for land reform efforts, such as the extensive redistributive land reforms of Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe. Arguments in support of land reform focus on its potential social and economic benefits, particularly in developing countries , that may emerge from reforms focused on greater land formalization. Such benefits may include eradicating food insecurity and alleviating rural poverty. And

870-562: The woman may have both customary and statutory rights to the land, confusion over which set of laws has primacy, or even a lack of knowledge of relevant laws, leave many AIDS widows at a significant disadvantage. Also, conflicting formal and informal land laws can also clog a country's legal system, making it prone to corruption. Additional arguments for land reform focus on the potential environmental benefits of reform. For example, if reform leads to greater security of land ownership , through either formal or informal means, then those that use

900-483: The workplace. Zapatismo continued after the assassination of Emiliano Zapata in 1919. Many of the remaining Zapatistas continued to fight Venustiano Carranza's forces, others surrendered peacefully in exchange for amnesties. In 1920, Álvaro Obregón sided with the Zapatistas in a coup against Venustiano Carranza's government. This led to the installation of agrarian reforms in the state of Morelos. Emiliano Zapata became

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