Farewell To The Peasantry? Political Class Formation In Rural Mexico

Focusing on three Mexican agricultural regions from the 1930s to the present, Gerardo Oteros offers an analysis of the intersection of class relations, political mobilization, and regionally varying cultural heritage in rural Mexico. With the prevailing agrarian social structure as his backdrop, Otero examines the social and political circumstances under which different regions have evolved, and the transformations in class structure that have resulted. He maintains that political class formation is the fundamental process by which civil society is constructed, and a vital part in the transition toward a societal democracy. Otero also addresses Mexicos legendary agrarian reform program, arguing that land redistribution was enacted by the leaders of Mexico specifically because of its power to entrench capitalism in the modern Mexican state.