Moramay Lopez-Alonso

This project shows that agrarian reforms in fact contributed to some of the most severe challenges that Mexican cities face today, including overcrowding of settlements that lack basic urban infrastructure, the proliferation of squatters, and low levels of property tax collection. It argues that the intended objectives of the agrarian legislation have not been realized because policy makers misread the social and economic reality of the country at the time. In addition, politicians exacerbated problems, sometimes in well-meaning ways, sometimes to appeal to specific constituencies. This study analyzes three legal disputes that are paradigmatic of the problems studied.