2 years, 10 months ago
What was Jacobo Arbenz Guzman land reform policy in Guatemala?
Did the Arbenz policy help the landless poor ?
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M$1 Answer
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Árbenz continued Arévalo's reform agenda and, in June 1952, his government enacted an agrarian reform program. The agrarian reform law ( decree 900 ) gave the government power to expropriate only uncultivated portions of large plantations. Estates of up to 670 acres (2.7 km2) were exempted if at least two thirds of the land was cultivated; also exempt were lands that had a slope of more than 30 degrees (a significant exemption in mountainous Guatemala).
The land was then allocated to individual families. Owners of expropriated land were compensated according to the worth of the land claimed in May 1952 tax assessments. Land was paid for in twenty-five year bonds with a 3 percent interest rate. Arbenz himself, a landowner through his wife, gave up 1,700 acres (7 km2) of his own land in the land reform program.
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Árbenz continued Arévalo's reform agenda and, in June 1952, his government enacted an agrarian reform program. The agrarian reform law ( decree 900 ) gave the government power to expropriate only uncultivated portions of large plantations. Estates of up to 670 acres (2.7 km2) were exempted if at least two thirds of the land was cultivated; also exempt were lands that had a slope of more than 30 degrees (a significant exemption in mountainous Guatemala).
The land was then allocated to individual families. Owners of expropriated land were compensated according to the worth of the land claimed in May 1952 tax assessments. Land was paid for in twenty-five year bonds with a 3 percent interest rate. Arbenz himself, a landowner through his wife, gave up 1,700 acres (7 km2) of his own land in the land reform program.
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M$
The reform lasted less than two years before the government was overthrown and the land was returned to its previous owners. For this reason, we don't really know too much about whether it increased productivity and wealth on a national level. What it did do is greatly improve the lifestyles of those who received land.
I'm reading a book on this very topic right now, but it's at home. When I get there I'll look up the numbers of how many received land under the reforms.
How many individuals participated in the land offer?
What impact did the reform play in increasing productivity and wealth?
What is the name of the Book? I'd like to read it, also.