Two of the many legends about the Porfiriato are seemingly contradictory: some critics of the regime decried that pueblo representatives lost their ability to take their land and water claims to ...court, while others argued that pueblos that took their claims to court usually lost because judges were corrupt and biased in favor of landowners. This chapter shows that although many pueblos (as civil corporations) did lose their right to own land with the Liberal reforms of the 1850s and the Constitution of 1857, and, on this basis, judges sometimes denied pueblos juridical standing (the right to take their claims
Introduction Helga Baitenmann
Matters of Justice,
05/2020
Book Chapter
Studies of land reform in twentieth-century Mexico tend to project onto the past concepts that were created in the 1930s and 1940s, bestowing the early revolutionary agrarian reforms with meanings ...they did not have. This book is a study of the two main agrarian reform programs in revolutionary Mexico—the Zapatista and the Constitutionalist projects— as they were implemented in practice at the local level and then reconfigured in response to unanticipated inter-and intravillage conflicts.¹ What archival documents show is that neither of these agrarian projects intended to create what we now know as the twentieth-century ejido—that is, population
Land reform efforts during the armed phase of the Mexican revolution (1910–20) remain largely overshadowed by the more dramatic events of the period. Based on records held in the Archivo General ...Agrario in Mexico City, this article shows how villagers in different parts of Mexico negotiated their claims to land with various revolutionary regimes during the armed struggle, with particular attention to the local committees created to measure land boundaries, conduct village censuses and distribute land. These negotiations between agrarian officials and villagers laid the foundations for the first post-revolutionary national administration. The emergent federal agrarian offices doubled as a legislative branch of government, assumed quasi-judicial functions and restricted the role of municipal and state governments – qualities that would characterise Mexico's agrarian reform for the next 70 years. In highlighting the ways that early land reform efforts contributed to state formation, this article questions the current social science inclination to ‘decentre’ Mexico's post-revolutionary regime. Los esfuerzos por implementar una reforma agraria durante la fase armada de la Revolución mexicana (1910–20) han quedado en buena parte a la sombra de los acontecimientos más violentos de este periodo. Basado en expedientes del Archivo General Agrario de la Ciudad de México, este artículo muestra cómo habitantes de diferentes partes de México negociaron sus reclamos agrarios con los distintos regímenes revolucionarios, prestando atención en particular a los comités locales creados para fijar linderos, levantar censos de la población rural y repartir tierras. Estas negociaciones entre funcionarios agrarios y pobladores sentaron las bases de la primera administración nacional posrevolucionaria. Las instancias agrarias creadas a nivel federal fungieron como un poder legislativo, asumieron funciones cuasijudiciales y restringieron el papel de los gobiernos municipales y estatales, y estos rasgos caracterizarían la reforma agraria mexicana durante los siguientes 70 años. Al destacar las formas en que los primeros esfuerzos de reforma agraria contribuyeron a la formación del Estado, este artículo cuestiona la tendencia actual de las ciencias sociales a ‘descentrar’ el régimen posrevolucionario mexicano. Os esforços para instaurar a reforma agrária durante a fase de luta armada da Revolução Mexicana (1910–20) continuam em boa parte ofuscados por acontecimentos mais dramáticos ocorridos durante o período. Com base em registros guardados no Arquivo Geral Agrário na Cidade do México, é demonstrada o processo de negociação dos camponeses de diversas partes do México com os vários regimes revolucionários ao longo do período de luta armada, dando especial atenção aos comitês locais criados para medir as divisas entre as terras, a condução de pesquisas de censo dos vilarejos e a distribuição das terras. Estas negociações entre os oficiais agrários e os camponeses formaram os alicerces da primeira administração pós-revolucionária nacional. Os ascendentes escritórios agrários federais também operararam como um braço legislativo do governo, assumindo funções quase judiciais e restringindo o alcance dos governos municipais e estaduais; traços estes que caracterizariam a reforma agrária mexicana ao longo dos próximos setenta anos. Ao sublinhar as maneiras nas quais tentativas incipientes de reforma agrária contribuiram para a formação do estado, questiona-se a atual tendência nas ciências sociais de “descentralizar” o regime pós-revolucionário mexicano.
Gender discrimination pervades nearly all legal institutions and practices in Latin America. The deeper question is how this shapes broader relations of power. By examining the relationship between ...law and gender as it manifests itself in the Mexican legal system, the thirteen essays in this volume show how law is produced by, but also perpetuates, unequal power relations. At the same time, however, authors show how law is often malleable and can provide spaces for negotiation and redress. The contributors (including political scientists, sociologists, geographers, anthropologists, and economists) explore these issues-not only in courts, police stations, and prisons, but also in rural organizations, indigenous communities, and families.By bringing new interdisciplinary perspectives to issues such as the quality of citizenship and the rule of law in present-day Mexico, this book raises important issues for research on the relationship between law and gender more widely.
Abstract Land reform efforts during the armed phase of the Mexican revolution (1910-20) remain largely overshadowed by the more dramatic events of the period. Based on records held in the Archivo ...General Agrario in Mexico City, this article shows how villagers in different parts of Mexico negotiated their claims to land with various revolutionary regimes during the armed struggle, with particular attention to the local committees created to measure land boundaries, conduct village censuses and distribute land. These negotiations between agrarian officials and villagers laid the foundations for the first post-revolutionary national administration. The emergent federal agrarian offices doubled as a legislative branch of government, assumed quasi-judicial functions and restricted the role of municipal and state governments - qualities that would characterise Mexico's agrarian reform for the next 70 years. In highlighting the ways that early land reform efforts contributed to state formation, this article questions the current social science inclination to 'decentre' Mexico's post-revolutionary regime. PUBLICATION ABSTRACT Spanish Abstract Los esfuerzos por implementar una reforma agraria durante la fase armada de la Revolución mexicana (1910-20) han quedado en buena parte a la sombra de los acontecimientos más violentos de este periodo. Basado en expedientes del Archivo General Agrario de la Ciudad de México, este artículo muestra cómo habitantes de diferentes partes de México negociaron sus reclamos agrarios con los distintos regímenes revolucionarios, prestando atención en particular a los comités locales creados para fijar linderos, levantar censos de la población rural y repartir tierras. Estas negociaciones entre funcionarios agrarios y pobladores sentaron las bases de la primera administración nacional posrevolucionaria. Las instancias agrarias creadas a nivel federal fungieron como un poder legislativo, asumieron funciones cuasijudiciales y restringieron el papel de los gobiernos municipales y estatales, y estos rasgos caracterizarían la reforma agraria mexicana durante los siguientes 70 años. Al destacar las formas en que los primeros esfuerzos de reforma agraria contribuyeron a la formación del Estado, este artículo cuestiona la tendencia actual de las ciencias sociales a 'descentrar' el régimen posrevolucionario mexicano. PUBLICATION ABSTRACT Portugese Abstract Os esforços para instaurar a reforma agrária durante a fase de luta armada da Revolução Mexicana (1910-20) continuam em boa parte ofuscados por acontecimentos mais dramáticos ocorridos durante o período. Com base em registros guardados no Arquivo Geral Agrário na Cidade do México, é demonstrada o processo de negociação dos camponeses de diversas partes do México com os vários regimes revolucionários ao longo do período de luta armada, dando especial atenção aos comitês locais criados para medir as divisas entre as terras, a condução de pesquisas de censo dos vilarejos e a distribuição das terras. Estas negociações entre os oficiais agrários e os camponeses formaram os alicerces da primeira administração pós-revolucionária nacional. Os ascendentes escritórios agrários federais também operararam como um braço legislativo do governo, assumindo funções quase judiciais e restringindo o alcance dos governos municipais e estaduais; traços estes que caracterizariam a reforma agrária mexicana ao longo dos próximos setenta anos. Ao sublinhar as maneiras nas quais tentativas incipientes de reforma agrária contribuiram para a formação do estado, questiona-se a atual tendência nas ciências sociais de "descentralizar" o regime pós-revolucionário mexicano. PUBLICATION ABSTRACT
