Mexico is considered a peasant country, and its inhabitants, one way or another, are attached to the land.
General organization
Mexico's agriculture is organized in such a way that most of the land belongs to landowners who own latifundia. Peasants are deprived of land, they have to rent it from the landowners and work as farm laborers.
President Cardenas introduced land reform that reduced some latifundia. Nevertheless, a significant part of the best lands remains concentrated in them.
Peasants are in severe poverty, which forces them to unite in alliances, contributing to the expansion of the agrarian movement. Peasants make up two-thirds of the country's total population, but their incomes are very low. This is because Mexico depends on foreign capital, on American exports. Therefore, food has to be imported.
Social composition
In the Mexican peasantry, a significant stratum is made up of laborers called braceros. They perform seasonal agricultural work. Over the years, their number is only growing. Strong poverty is pushing the peasants to work in the USA, where they inevitably endure the most severe conditions.
There are two types of villages in Mexico's agriculture:
- independent villages - ejido;
- villages in the possessions of the landowners - Hacienda.
Feudal relations still reign in the Hacienda: there are stewards, farm laborers, shepherds, workers, police, a teacher, a priest, and servants.
Free peasant communities are built differently, on the principle of tribal unions. The peasants in them jointly own the land.
The rural population of Mexico is divided into:
- poor people who make up the bulk;
- prosperous individuals.
The latter include shopkeepers, artisans, and intelligentsia.
Structure
The main specialization of Mexico's agriculture is crop production.
The traditional culture is corn. The economy of the country is built on its cultivation. Every year, up to 3 million hectares of land are sown with maize. The main part goes to human nutrition, a small part - to livestock feed, alcohol production and seed production.
In addition to corn, bean cultivation is popular. Both beans and corn are mainly grown by small farms. The Spaniards introduced in the agriculture of Mexico, wheat and rice. Barley is sown in some areas. An important role in the economy is played by coffee, which ranks second in the list of Mexican exports.
In agriculture, Mexico erected and industrial crops :
- cotton;
- heeneken - a type of agave used for fiber production;
- magei is another type of agave from which an alcoholic beverage is derived.
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 garden vegetables.
The livestock industry in agriculture is not so developed. In Mexico, livestock is represented, which came from the Spaniards. Before the advent of Europeans, the local population raised dogs and turkeys.
Now in Mexico bred:
The milk of goats and sheep goes to the production of cheese. Dairy farming is developed. Thus, crop production and animal husbandry are Mexico's main agricultural sectors.
Features of agriculture
The country's agricultural level is extremely low. Human labor is cheap, a semi-serf system of relations has been preserved.
As for agricultural implements, it must be said that in many Mexican areas there is not even an ordinary plow. The earth is cultivated with a digger and a hoe. The people practically do not know the perfect agricultural machinery.
Among the tools, a machete is popular - a large multi-functional knife. It is used in many fields of activity.
In agriculture, craft production is actively developing. They are divided into three types:
- Making items for your own life. They make dishes, baskets, utensils.
- Production of things for sale in cities and for tourists. Among them there are objects made with real copyright craftsmanship.
- Dressing up products for sale in nearby markets. Each state has its own branch of production of certain things.
If you briefly describe the agriculture of Mexico, it is worth mentioning its low agrotechnical level and low profitability. The reasons are largely unfavorable climatic conditions and low technical equipment of small farms. The arrival of Europeans in Mexico brought its advantages to agriculture, including plow farming. However, the introduction of modern technology into the economy is proceeding at a very slow pace.