Key Idea
Movements to redistribute land and resources developed within states in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, sometimes advocating communism or socialism
Movements to redistribute land and resources developed within states in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, sometimes advocating communism or socialism
Land Reforms
Communist Revolution for Vietnamese independence
In both China and North Vietnam, land reform programs designed to break the power of traditional village elite, recruit new village leaders from among the peasants, and distribute wealth (especially land) from the elite to the poor, were very important parts of the Communist revolution.
This program resulted in executions of "landlords and reactionaries," estimated most reliably at 13,500 killed |
Mengistu Haile Mariam in Ethiopia
Mengistu Haile Mariam is an Ethiopian soldier who overthrew the Ethiopian government in a military coup. He established a communist government and redistributed the land. The landlords were killed, or disappeared; but the revolution also eliminated the marketers who dealt in seed and fertilizer. Poor farming practices, coupled with a population growth rate that doubled every 5 years and a major drought brought famine to Ethiopia.
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Kerala Land Reform in India
After the British left India, most of the land remained in the hands of a few elite. That changed in the of Kerala. It contained four major components: a rice tax on the largest owners, to be collected by the government and redistributed to the poor. A ceiling on absolute size of land-holdings, with excess land to be redistributed to the landless; the abolition of rent from the operators to noncultivating landlords.
Most of the elite that lost land were compensated above market value. Many of the peasants who gained lad have faired well. This has been considered one of the few successful land reforms of the cold war era. |
White Revolution in Iran
The changes instituted by Mohammed Reza Sha were called the White Revolution because it was a bloodless attempt to change the society in Iran. He was attempting to consolidate power by taking it away from the landed elite and providing for the peasants. Land reform consisted of The government from the feudal landlords at what was considered to be a fair price and sold it to the peasants at 30% below the market value, with the loan being payable over 25 years at very low interest rates. This made it possible for 1.5 million peasant families, who had once been little more than slaves, to own the lands that they had been cultivating all their live.
Unfortunately, the Sha was a totalitarian dictator who would be ousted later. |