Privatization, Land Reform, and Property Rights: the Mexican Experience

This paper is concernedwith rural property rights in Mexico. Consideration of this issuewas occasioned by the liberal program of reform adopted in 1992by the government of Carlos Salinas de Gortari, which providesfor a gradual privatization of the Mexican ejidos, a form ofcommunally administered property. The present contribution examinesto what extent this reform project is theoretically founded andwhich practical problems it encounters in implementation. Thegenesis and structure of rural property rights in Mexico is outlined.The problems associated with implementing the reform projectare discussed for an empirical case example in the Soconuscoregion (Chiapas) in Mexico. Finally, a number of consequencesare drawn.