Broken Promises

Two defining features of agriculture in Latin America are unequal resource distribution and poverty among peasant farmers ("campesinos"). Agrarian reform - which grants land rights to campensinos together with production credit, inputs and training - is often seen as a measure that will foster equity and social justice. Although some claim that agrarian reform will lower farm production by fundamentally altering the structure of agriculture, others argue that production will rise as campensinos get a stake in the system. This book presents an historical and analytical interpretation of agrarian reforms in six Latin American countries: Mexico, Bolivia, Guatemala, Chile, El Salvador and Nicaragua. It offers an examination of the accomplishments and failures of these reform efforts, concluding that governments have frequently announced bold policies that have proved to be ineffectual or that have been quietly neutralized by other actions. The book illustrates how agrarian reform is related to environmental issues in Latin America, explaining that small farmers often intensively cultivate steep hillsides, while large farmers leave rich bottom land idle.