Mexico is considered a peasant country, and its inhabitants, one way or another, are tied to the land.
Agriculture in Mexico is organizedthat most of the land belongs to the landlords who own the latifundia. The peasants are deprived of land, they have to rent it from the landlords and work as farm laborers.
President Cardenas undertook land reform, which reduced certain latifundia. Nevertheless, a significant part of the best lands remains concentrated in them.
Peasants are in great poverty, thatforces them to unite in alliances that promote the expansion of the agrarian movement. Peasants make up two-thirds of the country's total population, but their incomes are at a very low level. This is because Mexico depends on foreign capital, on American exports. Therefore, food has to be imported.
As part of the Mexican peasantry, a significanta layer is made of farm laborers called brazeros. They perform seasonal agricultural work. Over the years, their number is only growing. Strong poverty pushes peasants to go on earnings in the USA where they involuntarily suffer the most severe conditions.
In the agriculture of Mexico there are two types of villages:
In the asiands feudal relations still reign: there are managers, farm laborers, shepherds, workers, police, a teacher, a priest, servants.
Free communities of peasants are built differently, according to the principle of clan unions. The peasants in them jointly own the lands.
The rural population of Mexico is divided into:
The latter include shopkeepers, artisans, and intelligentsia.
The main specialization of agriculture in Mexico is crop production.
The traditional culture is corn. The economy of the country is built on its cultivation. Every year, maize sow up to 3 million hectares of land. The bulk goes to human nutrition, a small part - to feed livestock, the production of alcohol and the receipt of seeds.
In addition to corn, the cultivation of beans is popular. Both beans and corn are mainly grown by small peasant farms. The Spanish introduced wheat and rice to the agriculture of Mexico. In some areas, barley is sown. An important role in the economy is played by coffee, which is on the second place in the list of Mexican exports.
In the agriculture of Mexico, technical crops are also being built:
Agave is also used in food, in the construction of huts, in the preparation of medicines. In the tropics, reeds, pineapples and bananas, tobacco are grown. Peasants grow peppers, tomatoes and other vegetable vegetables.
Livestock sector in agricultureis not so developed. In Mexico, cattle breeding is represented, which came from the Spaniards. Before the arrival of Europeans, the local population grew dogs and turkeys.
Now in Mexico bred:
Milk of goats and sheep goes to cheese production. Dairy farming is well developed. Thus, plant growing and livestock - the main branches of agriculture in Mexico.
The level of agriculture in the country is extremely low. Human labor is cheap, a semi-serf system of relations is preserved.
As for agricultural implements, it is necessaryto say that in many Mexican regions there is not even a conventional plow. The land is worked by a digger and a hoe. The people practically do not know the perfect agricultural machines.
Among the tools of labor is popular machete - a large multifunctional knife. It is used in many spheres of activity.
In agriculture, handicraft industries are actively developing. They are divided into three types:
If you characterize the agriculture of Mexicobriefly, it should be said about its low agrotechnical level and low profitability. The reasons are in many respects unfavorable climatic conditions and low technical equipment of small farms. The arrival of Europeans in Mexico brought to the agriculture their advantages, including plow farming. However, the introduction of modern technology into the economy is very slow.
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