Contemporary revolution in Latin America Agrarian revolution
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The following program is produced by the University of Florida's school of journalism and
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communications under a grant from the National Educational Television and Radio Center
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in cooperation with the National Association of educational broadcasters.
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Small countries have an urgent problem for land reform especially in
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certain countries like my own where we have a million and I have
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Indians packed in they have in the Highlands and who have only
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about three or four hectares. Perhaps less than that bare
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head of family and with the driver of the land.
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Speaking of the peasants we mustn't forget the aspirations of these millions
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of them that want to feel that they own something and
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land is something which is valuable. Money isn't so important
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to them but if they can say this land is mine they are much
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happier man.
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The University of Florida presents the Agrarian Revolution the second in a weekly
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series of recorded documentary reports on the contemporary revolution in
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Latin America. Your reporter is the distinguished American journalist
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and editor of The Christian Science Monitor.
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Oh Wendy you can't.
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Cry of the world's masses land reform is not new. The
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slogan land for the landless dates back at least 30 centuries in
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Roman times. Talk told us how the grokking attempted a social reform based
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on a more equal distribution of land. Similarly the desire for agrarian reform in
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Latin America is no recent development grammarian reform was the
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rallying point of the Mexican Revolution by expropriating and
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redistributing the land. Mexican economists point out Mexico was able to achieve
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economic freedom and social equality for her people. The Mexican revolution
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began in one thousand ten. Lender form then has been a goal in Latin
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America for over a half century. What happens when this you're running for
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land is through it. Cuba is a case in point. In
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1950 a prominent sociologist delivered a paper at the University of Florida's first
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conference on the Caribbean summing up Dr. Lowery notes and said the Grand
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paradox of Cuba is the potential food fullness of the land and the
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poverty of people who work upon it. Yet in 1959 North
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Americans were astonished when Fidel Castro and his followers brought about a drastic social
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revolution. Now self-described as a socialist revolution
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in the communist sense. The fact is the cornerstone of Castro's
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revolution was land reform. The most dramatic indicator of the need for land
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reform in Latin America is the high concentration of ownership. Too few people
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simply own too much of the land.
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Venezuela for example has a tremendous
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concentration of land ownership. A Columbia University sociologist
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Clarence Sr. supplies some statistics 3 percent of
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all of the land owners of Venezuela own 90 percent of
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the land. In Chile the situation isn't quite as bad
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but it's bad enough 2 percent of the land owners own
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52 percent of all of the farmland and the situation is
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just about the same in Brazil where 2 percent of the people own
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half of the land of Brazil.
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Many Latin Americans as well as North American observers believe if there is one step
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necessary to the continued development of Latin America from a feudal society to a
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community of industrial powers that step is successful agrarian
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reform. At the nub of the Agrarian Reform problem is the feudal
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institution known as the hacienda the Lodge a state or plantation. The system is
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very close to the one described in the history of medieval Europe. The landowner of the
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feudal lord is usually an absentee owner who generally gets his
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status and prestige from the mere ownership of land. These are states I worked
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by peasants who by circumstances I literally bound to the land
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they were born there many times and either cannot or cannot believe. Before the
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revolution in Bolivia an advertisement appeared in a prominent newspaper in La Paz
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haciendo located on the main highway a short drive from the Bolivian capital was offered for
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sale. I see and it was described as having five hundred acres of land fifty
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sheep much water and twenty peons. We
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asked Dr. Raymond the research professor of geography at the University of Florida to brief us on the
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historical and geographical background of land tenure in Latin America.
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The Spaniards when they came found Indo
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or Indian civilizations that had already evolved
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their land tenure systems and those were based around
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village holdings. They Spaniards themselves in
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many cases swept these aside or superimposed on
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these groups from in the in the higher mountain
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areas between Mexico and northern Argentina their own
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minority or feudal systems of great land of the
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states. These have in the course of time exerted a
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kind of dead hand influence on the economies of
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these countries. In many instances. Furthermore in relatively
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recent times there has been a development of
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the plantation economy in both.
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In both cases the systems of the plantation system and
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the US into system have been super imposed or
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pushed aside the original Indians and
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their holdings. This has brought about in so
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many instances cases in which the rights of property have been
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so far extended that millions of people have been
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without land without enough to live on and with the result
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that in the course of time they have demanded what they
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think is an inalienable right namely the right to land which they can
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cultivate and get the food they want to hand in hand with the problem of the
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ownership of too much land is the ownership of too little.
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The urgency for redistribution of land as well as the myth of the redistribution
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depends on the particular country in Latin America that we're talking about at the time. This is the view of
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the former ambassador to the United Nations from Guatemala Garcia Granados
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for instance.
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The large countries of South America in
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Brazil are not in Nogent need of land reform. They have
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plenty of land still left that can be acquired by immigrant.
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What the problem is my problem of population than land reform
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on the other side. Small countries have an urgent problem of land reform.
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Especially in certain countries like my own where we have a million
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and I have Indians packed in they have in the Highlands and who have
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only about three or four have DOS. Perhaps
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less than that. Better head of family and with the driver of that then our no
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more lands in the Highlands than normal states. So we have to open
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up new lands for them wherever we can do it and especially
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the difficulty is that we have to give an
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incentive to the Indians to work to lower lands because they are accustomed to live in the Highlands.
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So land reform depends upon the country and it also depends upon the section of a
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particular country as well as a particular type of agriculture desired cattle
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raising by necessity uses much larger tracts of land than say raising coffee.
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Columbia does both. And Colombia has been writing a land reform law now
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before its legislature. When he was Minister of Agriculture Orlando followers were
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helped to draft recommendations for this law. We put a question to him. How do you go
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about writing a good land reform law that will cover the various regional
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differences in land and crop.
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We have a lot of including more the more general point
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should include you know all of these and you have ample
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authority to the entity to implement
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the law. To make these region no
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qualifications or adjustments and the law now in Congress
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in Congress is complete so I can use it
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to perform.
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No the problem appears to be not in writing a land reform
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but in getting it passed in the national legislature. Where in most cases the landowners also
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hold the political power.
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Professor Emeritus Frank Tannenbaum of Columbia University has written that the hacienda
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has no built in device that will allow for reform of the system. He points out
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that in two countries where the hacienda has been repudiated Mexico and Bolivia it
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was by revolution could be added to this list.
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A professor of economics at the University of Mississippi Pedro Teicher put it this
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way.
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It's just a problem. It's very difficult because the the ruling
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class has been the land holding class and Latin America and to
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and to bring about land reform would mean to bring about a fundamental
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change social change and the landholding class is
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not going to give in easily since that would mean they would lose political power if there
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are a few passed tax laws to tax the agricultural people if they are in the
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control of the government they're not going to pass laws to tax themselves. So it is
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almost required that you have a social upheaval
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to dislodge the landholding class take away the
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political power from them then then you can have a land reform. But
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even in a country even Argentina with all the power Peron had he did not touch
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that line of thought.
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Florida's junior senator George Smathers disagrees with Dr tite. The senator has
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always had a keen interest in Latin America has traveled extensively particularly in the countries of Central
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America and the Caribbean. Here's what he has to say in response to the view that
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revolution is necessary to bring about agrarian reform.
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I would say that the Del Castro revolution
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and the Communist takeover there in Cuba has been
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alerted. And I roused and wakened most people of
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Latin America to the need that is the so called privileged class who we all agree
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up to this point have not done enough for their own countries they have taken a lot out of it and given very little
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back. I think they are now awakening to the fact that unless
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they themselves initiate certain
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governmental reforms and as they themselves start paying taxes and
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contributing to the upgrading of their schools their hospitals their
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roads. Then if they do not do something of this character they're
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then going to be thrown out and not only lose.
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Their lives and their fortunes but their country as well.
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Guatemala's Garcia Granados is another leader who believes in the chances of democratic
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evolution over the prospects of revolution.
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It all depends on the moment that is in power. If it is a government
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democratic government it has been elected and in its poem it
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is a sound before they can make it without
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going to violent measures.
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Sonia Garcia explains what he means by a sound land reform law.
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I would say that if it is sound. And by that
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rationale price for property and taxing those
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properties Howley those properties that our own until there is no
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social benefit from that land. Then they go home and they're right
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don't buy that but it is value. Just real value I mean by that
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land does not tilt. That is what has
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gotten not have the value of land that is called debated. So I don't
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think that there would be any difficulty by a government to carry out such a problem.
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So far in this program we have used the term land reform and agree and
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reform interchangeably. Is there a difference in meaning between them. We asked a
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research sociologist at the University of Florida Smith this question.
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Yes I myself very definitely prefer the term agrarian
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reform because whatever major
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endeavors really make along Lee's lines
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we are dealing with the relationship of man to man.
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Been in this relationship man is the he is the active
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element and land is the passive element. For this reason
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I prefer to refer to it as agrarian reform to stress the human element
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rather then land reform which stresses the passive element.
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Well under this definition what is the ultimate objective of agrarian reform.
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Well always when I'm in Latin America in this now for
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decades to die I have been working in with Latin American
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governments. I have always
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accepted and and followed a
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statement which was made one dime by the Brazilian commission on
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agrarian policy which indicated the fundamental.
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Objective of agrarian reform was the valorized zation
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of the ordinary rural man in Brazil meaning it
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to develop the human qualities when they are near a
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citizen royal citizen to the maximum list. This is the
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fundamental objective of agrarian reform.
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Smith explains the appeal of the demagogue to the landless masses in Latin America.
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The demagogue are nearly as Ian Klein. Do point
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to the fact there are there are
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rich productive lands
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frequently large amounts of them in the hands of a few proprietors.
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And very large numbers of workers and frequently voters
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with little or nothing in the way of landed property which he can
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use either saying are insinuating that you the
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voter ought to have a a part of this
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other man's estate. And matter of fact a great
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many people list about the only idea they have on the meaning of agrarian reform is
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simply to see the acreage is held in large estates and to
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divide them among only among the workers.
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The appeal of the demagogue who uses this approach is irresistible seems to be
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the landless masses in Latin America.
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Actually one of the bases of the strength Fidel Castro in
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Cuba is the fact that there was a tremendous concentration in a few
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hands of land ownership in Cuba. Once again
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Sr. and Castro has been able to get a
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tremendous following from the landless peasants of Cuba
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because he has been distributing land. Now somebody
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may say of course he is distributing land in such a way that the workers
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land workers may not get the land and I would agree entirely
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with this criticism. On the other hand nobody else
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has helped the Cuban peasants and this man Mad Men.
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And though he may be has offered and is
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delivering land to the peasants Castro agents and
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hundreds of so-called Soviet and Chinese Communist technicians have been stepping up efforts
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to export Castro style revolutions throughout the rest of Latin America.
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This threat from Cuba has had the positive effect of helping to wake up a few of the
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landowners to the urgent need of land reform now. So in Peru
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we see premier Pedro Beltran a member of one of the 25 families who control most
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of the land seeking to convince his fellow landowners that now is the time to
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act. The alternatives are to begin minor reforms immediately or
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face the prospect of being wiped out as landowners in a Castro type revolution.
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But in general the landowners in Latin America seem reluctant to act
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to do it no honest about it can three.
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I'm not frightened of these guys in motion.
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Brazilian now listening to a Labor Party leader who serves in Brazil's chamber of
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deputies as well though.
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Lim Das I met is in Brazil who is meant to grow swindling ice
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where he's constantly in
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my own bed in some part of the country and dad from which I
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come and they stated I represent he in the house. When
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did this these guys a revolution has got a lot of sympathy
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among the peasants.
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And then of course the landowners sometimes
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frighten their propaganda has a new notion you know
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in that bottle to leave as head of the National publishing of Brazil
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responsible Latin American leaders are worried about what may happen if agrarian reform
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laws are not passed and put into operation soon in Bogota Dr Orlando
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follows Burra wondered aloud what might take place if the land reform law which was
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then before Congress failed to pass.
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I think we have any unfortunate situation because
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most farmers and most Colombians have high
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expectations about the passing of this long he would be a definite
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outcome of the social revolution could happen perhaps worse
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on the campus of the University of Florida.
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The debate goes on over land reform which way evolution all revolution
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with students from 18 Latin American countries in attendance. It's not unusual to hear very
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frank discussions on this subject. We listen in on a bull session with Latin
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American students.
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Well the point wonder is you know seems to be whether it's convenient to go
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into a radical. Fast land reform in
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Latin American countries or go are a low rate of speed.
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I would have to wait to see some changes crystallize
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and if they're going to be effective as a whole it will be affected will
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depend say the government and their and their people and their education too.
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That's a that's an important point to education and you can't educate a man in a
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period of six or seven months. You can't change his whole way of looking at the
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earth and try and change a psychological relationship
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between his relationship to the government and his relationship as a
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free landowner and his relationship to the landlord. You are literally one way
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of learning how to play piano. Start playing where you have your ways but you're
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ready go away you can do the radical way and I think has brought in Guatemala
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very very effectively and so the debate continues well on
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into the night evolution or revolution.
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We've invited Dr. horse a buckeroo professor of economics at the Catholic
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University of Quito Ecuador to outline what he feels to be an intelligent
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workable program for Latin America in my opinion all the
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time is ripe to take action regarding a well planed we'll
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find agrarian reform in Latin America.
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And then must be read distributed not only because people need to
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find a place of their own but also because their development
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our production requires a land distribution to avoid
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both. Let the phone deal which leaves large plots of land
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uncultivated as well as mini fondue. Also on
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advisable for the reduction of land area add to units too small
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is economically on sound. In the agrarian reform must be
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well planed to cover our irrigation better agricultural
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methods diversified production etc. and well-financed
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in order to compensate the legitimate prize of expropriation
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not confiscation without scaring away either national or
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international investments. And to give the new owners a
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good start to make their enterprises a success. Good agrarian
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reform cannot be made without the whole hearted approval of the great
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majorities and without good faith and technical know how.
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To conclude our program we have invited members of the Graduate faculty the University of Florida's school of it
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are American studies to summarize what we have heard so far and if they will try to come to some definite
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conclusions about the agrarian revolution. The panelists Dr. Robert
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W. Bradbury professor of economics Dr. Raymond E. Crist research professor of geography who
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we've heard earlier in the program and A.S. Moore professor in the College of Agriculture.
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Len reform is needed in Latin America because today
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we need more agricultural production. And the system of land
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use in Latin America in the past will not satisfy
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the need of today because the US the ENDA
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system live you might say for itself it produced what was
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needed on that large estate for the people who live there. But it
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did not produce food to be used in the cities
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which are developing at such a fast rate. And you cannot have
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large populations in cities unless you have large amounts of food
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to feed them.
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There is one thing that is hopeful in Latin America and that is that
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under our point four we have been giving technical assistance to
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try to develop a more modern market oriented
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agriculture. This is very important because we know that
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since 1945 in other words in my speech 15 years in a good many
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countries the population has grown more rapidly than I recall for
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production in other words the agriculture production per capita is less today than it was in
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1945 and yet if we can train
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these Latin Americans in better methods of agriculture
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evolution may bring about a reform rather
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than revolution.
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One of the important things I can't help thinking in this connection that one of the important
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activities that should be carried out all over Latin America is a
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land survey there should be a land survey instituted so that
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the people of the country itself knew how much. Land how much
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national land it has so that people could figure out how much
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land large landlords have. I might say that in many countries
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this survey has been opposed because the landlords who themselves have been the
[25:48 - 25:53]
government to a large extent are not interested in having it known how much land
[25:53 - 25:55]
they have.
[25:55 - 25:59]
I think one of the reforms that is taking place for taking
[25:59 - 26:04]
place very very slowly is an imposition of land
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taxes. Historically land in Latin America has been
[26:09 - 26:14]
taxed at a very very low rate and this has made it
[26:14 - 26:19]
possible to do as you say of producing only on one third or one quarter
[26:19 - 26:24]
of your land holdings. The imposition of heavier land taxes
[26:24 - 26:28]
would force more of this idle land into productive use.
[26:28 - 26:33]
Precisely. But if those who own the life and are the
[26:33 - 26:37]
ones in the government they are not going to get too
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energetic about imposing taxes on their own property. That's that's one of the
[26:42 - 26:43]
difficulties.
[26:43 - 26:48]
Yes it is and that is of course one of the hopeful signs of the emergence of a middle class.
[26:48 - 26:53]
Because when the middle class gets political power it is apt
[26:53 - 26:57]
to bring about this reform in a peaceful
[26:57 - 27:02]
manner through taxation rather than the violent overthrow of the
[27:02 - 27:06]
whole system by the lower class the peasants
[27:06 - 27:11]
demanding they break up the largest Yes and who have nothing to lose and
[27:11 - 27:13]
everything to gain.
[27:13 - 27:18]
Speaking of the peasants we must not forget the aspirations of these millions
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of them that want to feel that they own something and
[27:23 - 27:28]
land is something which is valuable. Money isn't so important
[27:28 - 27:32]
to them but if they can say this land is mine they are a much
[27:32 - 27:34]
happier man.
[27:34 - 27:39]
Thank you for the past half hour we've been reporting on the Agrarian Revolution
[27:39 - 27:43]
Part of the contemporary revolution in Latin America.
[27:43 - 28:06]
Is the second in a series of weekly documentary reports on the contemporary
[28:06 - 28:11]
revolution. The program was narrated by the
[28:11 - 28:15]
distinguished American journalist and editor of The Christian Science Monitor
[28:15 - 28:35]
in cooperation with the University of Florida.
[28:35 - 28:40]
You may receive without cost a printed copy of today's program. By writing this
[28:40 - 28:45]
station today's report was based in part on material
[28:45 - 28:49]
published by the University of Florida Press. Today's program was prepared and
[28:49 - 28:54]
recorded by Will for Radio Center school of journalism and
[28:54 - 28:59]
communications University of Florida Gainesville under a grant from the
[28:59 - 29:04]
National Educational Television and Radio Center and is being distributed by
[29:04 - 29:09]
the National Association of educational broadcasters.
[29:09 - 29:12]
This is the end B Radio Network.
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This program has been transcribed using automated software tools, made possible through a collaboration between the American Archive of Public Broadcasting and Pop Up Archive. Please note that no automated transcription is perfect nor is it intended to replace human transcription labor. If you would like to contribute corrections to this transcript, please contact MITH at mith@umd.edu.