🌾 The Assault on the LandsThe Agrarian Reform in Mexicali
How the Cárdenas reform transformed the Mexicali Valley (1937-1940)
"The region had to be populated with Mexicans"— President Lázaro Cárdenas, 1937
Timeline of the Agrarian Reform
1935
Cárdenas Flies Over the Valley
The presidential candidate observes the valley
1937
The Reform Begins
Cárdenas orders the transformation
1938
Arrival of Families
Massive nationwide call
1939
The Great Redistribution
The taking of the lands
1940
Consolidation
Establishment of the ejidos
The Context: Baja California Before the Reform
🏝️ An Isolated Peninsula
In the 1930s, Baja California was practically an island within Mexico. The peninsula was cut off from the rest of the country by thousands of kilometers of inhospitable desert, turning the journey to central Mexico into an epic trek that few dared to undertake.
📊 The reality of BC in 1935:
- • Total population: Fewer than 50,000 inhabitants
- • Land connection: Nonexistent with Mexico
- • Schools: Only 7 (13 were needed)
- • Economy: Dominated by foreigners
🏢 Foreign Control
Since 1902, the Colorado River Land Company controlled approximately 340,000 hectares of the fertile Mexicali Valley. This American company, led by magnates such as Harry Chandler and Harrison Gray Otis, had turned the region into an agricultural enclave.
⚠️ Problems of the system:
- • Exploitation of Mexican workers
- • Productive land in foreign hands
- • Economic profits leaving the country
- • Precarious working conditions
The Vision of Lázaro Cárdenas
✈️ The Historic Flyover (1935)
During his tour of the north of the country, the then presidential candidate Lázaro Cárdenas del Río flew over the Mexicali Valley. From the air, he was able to see the vastness of the territory and the agricultural wealth that lay under foreign control. This experience left a deep mark on the future president.
💭 The Candidate's Promise
In his campaign writings, Cárdenas set down his commitment to:
- Build a railroad to connect Baja California
- Facilitate the transport of goods to central Mexico
- Definitively integrate the peninsula into Mexico
- Resolve the problem of land tenure
The Great National Call
📢 "Come Populate Baja California"
The solution President Cárdenas proposed was revolutionary in its simplicity: populate Baja California with Mexican families who would work the land as owners, not as day laborers. To this end, an unprecedented nationwide call was launched.
🎁 The government's offer:
- • A parcel of land of their own
- • 75% discount on rail transport
- • Support for relocation from the United States
- • The right to settle permanently
- • Access to agricultural credit
📍 The Massive Response
The response of the Mexican people was immediate and massive. Within a matter of weeks, letters and telegrams began to arrive from all over the country. Peasants expressed their interest in this great colonization adventure.
📮 States of origin:
- • Michoacán: The largest number of families
- • Jalisco: Numerous farming families
- • Guanajuato: Experienced farmers
- • United States: Deported Mexicans
- • Other states: Various regions
The Historic Moment: The Taking of the Lands
✊ The Day of the Redistribution
The climactic moment came when the members of the peasant federation "took" the lands of the ranches where they had worked as day laborers. It was not an act of violence, but an organized action backed by the federal government. In a single historic day, the most important agrarian redistribution in the history of Baja California was carried out.
📊 The Great Redistribution in Numbers
Voices from the Past: Testimonies
Doña María González
Michoacán, 1938
"When we arrived in the valley, everything was hard work, but it was OUR work. My husband and I knew that every furrow we opened was for our children. For the first time in our lives, we had land of our own."
Don Jesús Hernández
Jalisco, 1939
"President Cárdenas kept his word. They gave us the land and helped us bring our family over. My children were born here, and here we put down roots forever."
Account of a day laborer
Michoacán, 1936
"I came all the way from Michoacán thinking I could work the land here, but I only found temporary work. The foreign landowners paid us little and we had no rights to anything."
The Consequences: A Transformed Valley
⚡ Immediate Impact
- National sovereignty over the territory
- Thousands of Mexican families permanently settled
- Increase in agricultural production
- Development of new rural communities
- Strengthening of the local economy
- Reduced dependence on foreign interests
🌟 Long-Term Impact
- Ejido and communal land structure still in force
- Family farming traditions
- Cultural diversity (people from Michoacán, Jalisco, Guanajuato)
- Entrepreneurial and hard-working spirit
- Families deeply rooted in the territory
- Foundation of the modern Mexicali identity
🏛️ Legacy in Today's Mexicali
"The Assault on the Lands" laid the foundations of modern Mexicali. The communities established during the Cárdenas reform became the nucleus of the city and region's subsequent growth. Many of the neighborhoods and ejidos created in that era remain a fundamental part of the social and economic structure of Mexicali.
To Learn More
Historical Sources
- • Sánchez Ogás, Y. (2007). "El asalto a las tierras"
- • Historical Archive of the Municipality of Mexicali
- • General Archive of the Nation (Presidents Collection)
- • National Institute of Historical Studies
Places to Visit
- • Original ejidos of the Mexicali Valley
- • Regional Museum of Mexicali
- • Municipal Historical Archive
- • Monuments to the Agrarian Reform
- • Casa de la Cultura (exhibitions)
For Researchers
- • University theses on the topic at UABC
- • Newspaper archive: periodicals of the era
- • Oral testimonies in archives
- • Historical photographs
- • Digitized official documents
🔗 Related Links
📚 MORE HISTORY OF MEXICALI:
- • Complete history of Mexicali
- • General Abelardo L. Rodríguez
- • Founding of Mexicali (1903)
- • The historic Chinese immigration
🎯 RELATED TOPICS:
- • Agrarian reform in Mexico
- • The presidency of Lázaro Cárdenas
- • Development of the Mexicali Valley
- • Internal colonization of Mexico
📞 Additional Information
Historical Archive
📞 Municipal Historical Archive:
(686) 558-1000
🏛️ BC Institute of Culture:
(686) 552-8400
📧 Email:
historia@mexicali.gob.mx
Contribute to History
📝 If you have historical information:
- • Historical family photographs
- • Testimonies from relatives
- • Relevant historical documents
- • Objects of historical value
- • Accounts from former residents