ejido

Traditional system of Indian land-tenure in Mexico where land is held in common by the community with some reapportionment to individuals for subsistence farming. Expropriated to form haciendas (large ranches) after the Amortization Law of 1856 and during the dictatorship of Porfirio Díaz (1877-80, 1884-1911), Mexico's Constitution 1917 provided for the restitution of ejidos and formed the basis of Mexico's agrarian reform.

In 1991 28,000 cooperatives, ranging in size from 24.7 acres (10 hectares) to 8 million acres, accounted for just over half Mexico's arable land but only a fraction of its gross national income. To improve efficiency, and to reverse agricultural stagnation, land distribution to communities ended January 1992. Farmers are now able to sell their land to private companies.