A Brief History of Land Rights

During the late 1800’s, Latin America was experiencing a shift in landownership. Liberal politicians had begun targeting land controlled by the Catholic church. Subsequently, power over the land was taken by politicians, who sold and commodified it. Indigenous populations in Latin America were adversely affected; the land on which they were living communally was stolen through its privatization, forcing them out of their homes and into poverty.  Vagrancy laws were implemented by politicians to ensure these displaced Indigenous populations sold their labor for unlivable wages. The working conditions were horrendous: neither healthy nor safe. Indigenous populations in Latin America were forced into poverty by the shift in landownership. In addition, the United States established the Monroe Doctrine, which stated its opposition towards European interference in Latin America. The United States promised to protect the Western Hemisphere, but the country instead became the biggest threat to Latin America because of its tendency to intervene.

It was these political conditions, however, that inspired the Guatemalan revolution. During the revolution, the old government was overthrown and replaced by a democracy. Under this democracy, major changes were made in favor of working-class, indigenous Guatemalans. For the first time, their voices were amplified; with that, came improvements to their living conditions.

Ten Years of Spring: Agrarian Radicalism

In 1952, the Decree 900, also known as the Agrarian Reform Law, was passed under the presidency of Jacobo Arbenz Guzman (Handy, 1994). This law promised to fix the major misdistribution of land in Guatemala. Douglas Trefzger (2002) concluded that before the Decree was implemented, “Approximately 2 percent of the population controlled 72 percent of Guatemala’s arable land, while 88 percent of the population held only 14 percent of the land” (Trefzger, 2002). This major inequality was rooted in a history of racism and theft, where the communal lands of indigenous people were taken and given to wealthy, white elites. In a country where the majority of its population is agricultural, this had devastating effects. Therefore, the struggle for landownership became a central issue for indigenous populations.

Under the Agrarian Reform Law, over half a million hectares of land were redistributed with the intention of developing the peasant and agricultural economy as well as minimize exploitation (Trefzger, 2002). President Arbenz hoped that the economic boost would make Guatemala a modern capitalist state and economically independent. With the indigenous populations under the control of the land, new methods of cultivation were expected to be created.

Its Effects

Ten years of tremendous reform defined the revolution in Guatemala. According to Around 19 to 24 percent of the Guatemalan campesino population directly benefited from the land redistribution (all of whom were either Maya or ladino, which means mixed with indigenous and European). The two progressive presidents responsible for the country’s reforms were Juan Jose Arevalo and Jacobo Arbenz Guzman (Handy, 1994). While Arevalo was responsible for starting the revolution, it was Arbenz who formed a comprehensive development plan for rural Guatemala (Gleijeses, 1989). Therefore, this paper’s analysis will only focus on Arbenz’s administration, because of the land redistribution that occurred during his presidency.

How much influence did campesinos have over the Agrarian Reform Law? How much authority was given to them? How efficient was the land redistribution process?