The '''ejido''' [ɛxˈido] (from
latin ''exitum'') system is a process whereby the government promotes the use of communal land shared by the people of the community. This use of community land was a common practice during the time of
Aztec rule in
Mexico.
It was not until the colonization of Mexico by the Spanish and other European settlers that this practice seemed to disappear and be replaced by the ''
encomienda'' system. The ''encomienda'' system was abolished by the
Constitution of 1917, with the promise of restoring the ''ejido'' system. This, however, did not happen until
Lázaro Cárdenas became president in
1934. The purpose of restoring the ''ejido'' system was to give land back to the people and provide more food for the community. Under the ''ejido'' system, the land is owned by the government and is supported by a national bank.
According to the
1960 census, 23% of Mexico's cultivated land belonged to ejidos.
In
1991, Mexican President
Carlos Salinas de Gortari eliminated the constitutional right to ''ejidos'', citing the "low productivity" of communally owned land.
[1] Since then most of the ''ejido'' land has been sold to corporations, although some of it is still in the hands of farmers.
See also
★
well-field system Communal lands
References
1. http://ideas.repec.org/a/fip/fedfel/y1992ioct2n92-34.html
External links
★ Rural Development Institute:
Ejidos and Communidades in Oaxaca, Mexico (pdf)
★ Centro de Investigacion y Documentacion de la Casa and Sociedad Hipotecaria:
Current Housing Situation in Mexico 2005 (pdf)
★ University of Manchester, Department of Social Anthropology:
Fantasy and Reality in Restructuring Mexico’s Land Reform (pdf)