suis 208476900 AT Processed: 06/17/24 BUHR C HT 684 .P19 *Buhr B 899936 Journal Title: Materiales para el estudio de la clase media en la América Latina, Volume: 2 Issue: Month/Year: 1950 Pages: 1-29 Article Author: Pan American Union. Social Science Section. Nathan L. Whetten Article Title: The rise of the middle class in México Imprint: Washington, Unién Panamericana, Departamento de Asuntos Culturales, 1950-51. ISSN: Lender String: “EYM,OSU,NUI,CGU,UIU,UPM,EEM,G ZM,UUM,ILU,IYU,DLM,OKU,RRR,CSL Notes ‘Special Instructions: Note to Scanner: SCAN THIS SHEET!! 33 Odyssey iii TL LENDING ARTICLE “Big Ten** Copy To: LDL ( 1); INTERLIBRARY LOAN, 104 LOVE LIBRARY UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA-LINCOLN 13TH & R STREETS, P.O. BOX 884103 LINCOLN, Nebraska’ 68588-4103, United States Borrowed From: EYM/ MIUG Interibrary Loan University of Michigan Phone: 734-784-0295 Email: ibiending@umich.edu Courier Reply ONOS | ‘Volume | Oca CONFC CVol'Year don't agree other OTighily Bound O Missing Pages Ci Bound wio Searched 2" Searched GNon-cire DotherPUBLICACIONES DE LA OFICINA DE CIENCIAS SOCIALES LA CLASE MEDIA EN MEXICO Y CUBA Cuatro Colaboraciones Edicién y Recopilacion de THEO R. CREVENNA UNION PANAMERICANA Washington 6, D.C. DEPARTAMENTO DE ASUNTOS CULTURALES * 1950THE RISE CF A MIDDLE CLASS IN MEXICO Nathan L, WhettenTABLE OF CON Page I, Introduction. 3 Il. Factors influencing the gnowth of a middle class in Mexico, 5 The Spanish Conquest, 6 The Encomienda system, 8 The Hacionda system, 9 The Church, ae The geographical environment, 13 The reforms of ths Revolution. 15 II, The predominance of the lower class. ww IV, Rise of a middle classe” 19 The futur> of the middle class. 27 Nathan L, Whetten's interest in Moxico dato: childhood. Born in northern lexico of American parents, he spent most of hie carly years there, followed by shortor visits to Mexico in 1929, 1934 and 1939, He studicd sociol- ogy in the United States and received his doctorate from Harvard University. The opportunity to study Mexico through the eyes of a sociologist cam: in 1942 whon he was askud by the Department of State and the Office of Foreign Aericultur- al Relations to investigate and report on social conditions and developments in rural Latin America, From 1942 to 1945 he served as mural sociologist in Mexico, and for four months he also visited Guatemals. An outgrowth of his three-year stay was his importrnt book Rural Moxico published in 1942 by the University of Chicago Pross. Dr. Wratten is head of the Department of Rurel Sociology and Dean of the Graduat» School at the University of Connecti- cut. In 1945, as a member of the United States delegation, attended the Third Inter-American Conference on Agriculture Caracas, Venezucla, He is chrirman of the research conmitt, of the American Sociological Society and president of the Ni England Conferenes on Graduate: Education.« INTRCDUCTION Social stratification has long been recognizcd 18 a phenomenon that is practically universal in human societies. There are always some indi- viduals or groups in any given society who enjoy greater prestige, power, or privilege than others, In some cases the division into superior and inferior social position is very rigid and there is little or no possibi- lity of mobility from one group to another. In these societies one's so- cial renk is determincd by birth and he remains in the same group through- out his life. Where this is the case, as in India, the groups are gener- ally referred to as ca Whers, on the other hand, ther: exists the possibility of mobility of individuals from one social stratum to another, either upwards or downwards, as-is the case in western countrics, the groups are generally referred to as social class existence of social classes has been recognized for ages by students of human society. Aristotlo, for example, divided the population into the very rich, tho very poor, and those who are neither very rich ner very poor but who lie in between. This clas~ sification seems to have forcshadowed the more recant customery groupings of social classes into upper, middle and lowor. While the existence of socinl classes is gonerally recognized by so- cial scientists, there is no widely accepted definition of social class nor is there any infallible wey of determining class composition, In 1 Aristotle, Polities, Bock 1V, Ch. X1.general, it may be said that "social classes are large aggregates of ror- sons differentiated from one another by the special features of their cul- ture end of their economic eituation."* Even in “open” class systems some individuals remain all their lives in the class into which they are bern, while others whose economic situa tion changes may, through cultural. adaptation, move from one class to an~ other. Usuelly there is willingness and often pressure to move upwerd: but ordinarily, only in the fact of economic entastrophe will people ac- copt the ways of Living of a lower clase than the one to which they ere accustomed, Although no clean-cut and readily accepted criteria exist for deter mining the dividing lines among classes, the following distinguishing characteristics will serve tc indicate roughly the differeness betwen the three major class divisions for the purposes of this paper. Members of the upper class tend to bs charseterized by (1) posses- sion oB wealth, prestige end leisure; (2) high level of matericl end so- cil living: (3) usually » feeling of pride of Lineage; end (4) "refined" manners and social conventions. Members of the middle glass (1) tend to imitete tho ways of the upper dicta y Mifiez, Lucio, "The Social Cla Review, II, No. 2, April, 1946, p. 169. ssus," American Sociolosical Seo Nondieta y Nifiez, Lucio, Las Clas: de Investigaciones Sociales, Universided Nacional, 1947), pp. S3-9h. Some would insist that th aro more then three elessee. Warner and Iunt, for example, recognize two subdivisions in each of the major ones. See Warner, W. Lloyd, and Faul S, Lunt, The Social Life of s Modern Conmunity,(Now Haven, Yale University Press, 1941), Ps &. Sociales, (México, Instituteclass, especially as to levels of living, including such items as dress, Living quarters, furnishings, recreational pursuits, and social conven- tions. The difference is largely in the quality of the material goods possessed and in the luxuriousness of the living; (2) they attain their objectives mainly by means of work, with less emphasis on rents or capi- tal; (3) their labors usually require a certain amount of education, technical knowledge or administrative ability; (4) they have a deep-rooted tendency to keep up appearances and to observe social forms even at the cost of tremendous sacrifice; (5) in western societies the middle class usually includes small propietors and small business men, members of the professions including school teachers, a large segment of the bureaucracy and the more highly skilled laborers, Members of the lower glass are (1) usually characterized by manual labor; (2) their levels of living are below those of the middle class in education, living quarters, houschold furnishings, clothes, food and re- creational pursuits; (3) because of lower levels of living they are usu~ ally subjected to more widespread disease, a higher death rate, and espe~ cially 2 higher infant mortality rate than are members of the middle or tho upper class; (4) they are characterized by limited social participa- tion in formal organizations, II, FACTORS INFLURNCING TES GRCHTH OF A MIDDLE CLASS IN MEXICO Until recently Mexico has been almost devoid of a middle class. It is true that in all periods of her history there have been a few indivi- duals whose social and economic status placed them below the upper classand somewhat above the lower, Hut these have been few in comparison to their proportion in ‘festern uropean countries or in North America. In order to understand the slow development of a middle class in Mexico, it is necessary to examine a few of the more important factors which have exerted influence on her class structure. The Spanish Conquest. When the Spaniards arrived in Mexico they found a fairly dense Indien population, The exact number of Indians is not known but estimates range from 7 millions to 30 millions." sven accepting the lower estimate would mean that there were about one-third as mony Indians when the Spaniards ar- rived as there are inhabitants of Mexico today. The Indians wore not a ho- mogeneous group. They consisted of hundreds of tribes with different cus- toms, social systems and languages. The historian, Orozco y Berra, listed and identified over seven hundred of the 2 tribal groups. They were using from fifty to one hundred aifferent languages and dialects.” They were so diverse culturally and socially that they did not rut up much organized re sistance to the conquerors and a small band of Spaniards was able to estab- lish themselves as a ruling class over the hetercgeneous masses. The Span- ish culture was mer: 4 superimposed on top of the oxisting Indian bas=; + small group of whites became\the rulers and the large masses were rapidly brought into subjection. 4 Many of the factual data for this paper were drawn from Whetten, Nathan L., Rural Mexico, (Chicago, The University of Chicayo Press, 198). 5 Molina Enrfquez, Andrés, La Revolucién Aeraria dy México, 5 vols. (Mé&d- co, 1933-37), I, p. 72.ite different was the process of settlement which took place in the The Pilgrim Fathers camo as colonists to scttle a wilder- ness inhabited only by scattered Indian tribes which could easily be pushed back into restricted areas, leaving oxtensive agricultural lands for the new inhabitants to explore and settle. European institutions and customs were transplanted to a "New World" where opportunities were abundant and all could aspire to become more or less independent proprietors. There were few at the top, relatively few at the bottom and many in between.© Mexico, in contrast, was densely populated when the Buropeans arrived. ‘The Spaniards were able to set themselves up as rulers over the large Indi- an masses who continued to constitute balk of the population and who were gradually reduced to a condition of semi-serfdom with little hope or opportunity to become independent proprietors, Fer a number of rs social position in Mexico was determined largely by race or birth, A modified form of caste system tended to prevail, At the top of the social ladder wore the Spaniards born in Spain and referred to as gachupines, They held the important positions of prestige and influ- ence. TI r descendents, born in Hoxico of strictly Spanish parents, wore referred to as creoles. They were considered to bo somewhat inferior to the gachupines. They could not hold public office or other positions of power and influence, although they might hold lended estates and could en- joy economic security. It was argued that the American onvironment tended to cause degeneration which made the ereoles somewhat inferior, Persons 6 This, of course, wes not true in areas where slavery became widespread. ~of mixed blood were referred to as mestizos and occupied a position on the social ladder lower than the creoles, but somewhat abeve the Indian masses. The latter were exploited as members of an inferior race, ‘Thus, social po- sition was determined by birth rather than by culture or occupation. The coneern over racial distinctions during the colonial period led to an elaborate system of elessification for people of mixed blood. Some six- tean conbinetions were developed in au attempt to identify all possible mix turss.” Obvicusly, such fine distinctions were impossible to mintain after race mixture had procecded extensively. Gradually the importance of race, as such, declined and economic and cultural factors began to be weighted more heavily in imparting prestige to the various groups. ‘The Bncomienda System. Growing out of the Conquest was an institutional arrangement known as comianda system, This 21so proved to be unfavorrble to the develop- ment of a middle class in Mexico, especially during its later stages. The ja was a device for accomplishing a threefold purpose: (1) Chris- tianizing the Indiens; (2) bringing them under subjection to the crown; and (3) rewarding the conquerors for their exploits. It consisted of an allot- mont in trust of one or more villages to a given individual and carrice with it the right to collect tribute from the inhebitants and to exact corm tain personal services from them such as labor in the fields and in the houschold, The system was surrounded by numerous safeguards in the form of 7 yolina Enriquez, op. cit., p. 115. oroyal deerecs and regulations aimed et protecting the Indians from undue ex- ploitation. Many of these went uninforced, however, and the Indians gradu- ally lost control over their lands and became more dependent upon masters. As McBride says: « the Indians! service was of little value apart from t! on which they worked. Hence the colonists came to supervise t vor in the fields, and ty 2 gradual process to look upon the ficlds in which their Indians labored as their ow, The native people in many parts of America had little, if any, concept of individual property in Tend. So long as they wore allowed to use it, it mattered little to them who claimed its ownership, furthermore, the number of Indians rapidly deersased after the advent of whites, and many ficlds were left without their former occupants, The result wes that most of the land on which the encomienda Indians lived passed into the hands of the Spaniards. Thus the system, though not originally so intended, came to represent a virtual acquisition of the land, Where the Indians were firmly settled in agricultural commnitics, as was the case in the high- lands of Mexico to which Sponish conquest carly extended, the encomi das frankly took the form of land grants with the Indions attached, no longer being designated by the terms "Chivf-So-and-So with his Indians," as was customary in the Wost Indies, but as "such-and-such 2 pueblo” (village with its commmally held area of fields and water, woods and grasslands). The encomicnda thus came to give actual possession (under- stood to be temporary, of course) of the agriculture] communities, in- eluding the Indiens and the lands they occupied. This was the dirce- tion its development took not only in the Aztec Hmpire of central Mexiee but also in the densely inhebited farming districts of the Andean trop- ical plateaus, whose conquest preceded that of Chile.® The Hacienda System. The sncomienda was officially abolished in 1720, but by that time meh of the land formerly held in common by the Indians had been taken over by the Spaniards and incorporated into the larg private landed estate knom as xieo eco~ the haciends, Until 1910, the hacienda dominated the scene in nomicelly, socially end politically. It encomprssed a large erva of lend Mctride, G, M., Chile: Lend and Society, (New York, American Geographical Suciety, 1936), p. 07. Quoted with permission of the American Geographi-~ cal Society.including whole villeges within its domain, The Indiens became peons work- ing for a smll wage and a few subventions, In many cases they were liter- ally bound to the soil through a system of debt slavery, unable to leave until all debts were paid. The seriousness of this situation on the lives of the peons was described by Luis Cabrera: The resident peon earns, for instenee, 120 pesos ennually, but each year contracts an indebtedness of about 30 pesos more. Those 30 pesos, which fall drop by drop on the books of the hacienda, forge the chain with which you are familiar, Even in the days to which I have referred, I have personally witnessed the in-bility and unwillingness of the unfortunate peons to break away from this chain; although they were certain that no one would sve then, end thet they could run away with or without their families, they would not do so. The peon in debt remains on the hacienda, no so mich due to fear or fores, as through a sort of fascination produced in him by his indebtedness; he regards it as his chain, as his mark of slavery, as his shackles. The pcon never knows with certsinty the amount of the indsbtednsss which appears on the books of the hacienda, and which sometimes reaches the tromendous sum of ACO or 5CU pescs, This epparently humanitarian and Christian indobtcdness, without interest, suffers no other change in the books than its division upon tl ath of the pon into three or four parts which cre transferred te his young sons already working ca the hacienda, The plight of the pon is also deseribed by McBride: Tho wages of the peon sro scldom paid in money. Ordinarily for his labor he is given a duo bill or time check to be negotiated at the store maintained by the hacienda -- with obvious results. On the other hand, the sctusl wage curned is not the only compensation that the peon receives. Certain perquisites, if one might so describe them, have beon established by custom, which alloviate the lot of the an Isborer, Thus he occupics a hut upon the estate without being called upon to pay rent. He is usuclly allowed a milpa, a pices of land for his own us2, and this my provide at least 2 part of his liv- ing. Morcover, while he is forced to resort to the hacienda store, he enjoys 2 credit there sufficient to tide him over in the event of 2 general crop failure, fetually, however, so meager is the compsnsa~ 9 Cabrera, Iuis, "Proyecto de ley Agreria," (1912), in Manuel F4bila (ed.), Cinco Siglos de Legislacién Agraria en México (1493-1940), I (Héxi 191), Pe 230.tion received by tl and few opportunitios of eseapo from the bondage imp tablished system ever presont themselves .*° peon that he ds kept in the mest abject poverty, ed by the es- Just what proportion of Mexico's inhabitants were living under this system prior to 1910 is not known, Luis abrora estimated thet, by 1910, 90 percent of the villagers in the Central Mesa had no lend whatsoever, cave thet on which their rude huts wore standing;!> NeBride indicates that nore than 95 percent of the heads of rural familivs in all but five states had no rural property of their owns!” and Parkes states that nearly half the rural populstion wes bound to debt slavery.13 Obviously one would not expect the development of a middle class of any importance under conditicns auch as these. The rch. Many of the traditional attitudes and activities of the church have had en unfaborable influence on the developient of a middle ciass in Kexico. Dating from the Conquest, thy population has been overwhelmingly Catholie in religious effilistion and hence influsneed considerably by the programs, policies, end pronouncomaits of officisls of the Catholic ehureh, It is true thet +] church softened the Conquest for the Indian, By proclaiming thet he had a soul to be sav. it prevented mich abuse and destruction 1 weBride, G. M., The Land ical Society, 1923), Pp. 3: graphical Socictys atoms of Mexteo, (New York, Americen Goograrh- Guoted with permission of the American Ueo~ 1M goprera, op. git., Pe 226. 12 yeppide, op. cit.y p» 15h. istory of Hgxico, (foston, Houghton Mifflin s, Henry Panford, A ‘¥y 1938), Pe 305.which might otherwise hive taken place among them. After the mass conversions growing out of the Conquest were about over, however, the church began to accumulete tremendous wealth. Tho land was so dotted with beautiful church structures which in many commmnitics beeam: numerous 2nd so elaborate thet they probably absorbed most of the wealth and of this is found in energies ef the local inhabitants, An extreme examp: the town of Cholula where it is reported that 365 churches were constructed = one to represent every day in the year, Large landed estetus fell into the hands of the church and these were administered in about the same menner as other estates, Phipps deseribes the situation as follows: The clergy was an eccnomically privileged else from th: beginning, The members of it reccived large grents of land from Many monasteries, cathedrals ond individual prolates were 2 sheoniendas = which had more cr less the same history as those conferred upon lay= men, For the erection of churches, monasteri-s, and residonces the royal treasury furnished half the money, the cncomendzros or the Spen- ish population in general furnished work without remuncrstion, Zeclesiastical eapitel was free from texa- tion - legally in the verly days, virtually, alwsys. The clergy were entitled to collect tithes and first fruits of all agricultural pro- ducts, to receive fecs, dowries, gifts, bequests, «lms, and perpetusl trust funds, From the cutset they hed an economic advantsge over oven the richest encomenderos, who had te build their own houses snd provide their own working capital, and had not the scurces of income thrt the clergy had. So, with the dnmense prestige of the Church behind them, 4t is not surprising thet the clergy dominated the colonial ers cco- nomically and politically .+4+ So wealthy did the church become thet, according tc Lucas Alam4n, at least half the rcal preperty and espital of the country belonged to the church at tho end of the Coloniel period. Us Phipps, Helon, Some Aspects of the Agrarian juostion in Mexico: A His~ torical Study (Austin, Texas, 1925), pe hb. 15 quoted in Phipps, op. eit., py 40.With the acquisition of wealth and power the church naturally tended to throw its support to the type of government that would protect its mete- rial interests. Its politicel end fineneial policies thus beenme identified with those of the large landowners in their attempt to maintain the status quo, Yested interests led the church to oppose all liberal movements aimed at independonce from for-ign dominztion, separation of church and state, tenance of agrarion reform, and the developoent of public education. the status quo, however, with the vast majority of the population virtuelly living in serfdom cculd not contribute to the development of a middle class. The Geographical Environment. Mexico's geograrhical environment has been unfavoratle for the develop- ment of a large middle class. She has been predominontly on agricultural country throughout her history. “ven in 19,0, two-thirds of her population gricultural pursuits.26 yot it would op- were making their Living through « pear that topography is so rugged and her water resources so restricted that serious obstacles confront the development of an efficient agriculture on 2 national seals, neh of these points needs more elaboration, 1. Mach of the lend surface is mountainous. Only about one-third may be classified as more or less level and mich of this is too dry to grow crops. The rugged topography provides spectaculer scenery for tourists but offers serious handicaps for agriculture, In some areas, farming must be done on steep slopss where soil erosion is a constant threat.?” of the one- 16 wrotton, on. cits, pp. 35, Slee Ww See MePride, op. cit., Ch. I, 1so sce Simpson, Tyler N. The Bjido: Moxico's Yay Out. (Chapel Bill, The University of North Carolina Fress, 1937), pp. 131-61. Bthird of the land which is frirly level, mich is situated cither on the Yu- eat4n Poninsula, which for the most part contains a shallow soil not well adapted for gener ] agzivulture, or in tho north where @ sumi-erid climate prevails, More then half the total aren of the country is situsted at en sititude ef more than 3,200 feut above sea level and * cousiderabls propor= tion is located at more than 6,5C0 feet above sea lovel.t® the lowlands are confined to comparatively nrrow bands along cither coast snd to the peninsula of Yueatén, 2. Me: ico is so situated thet much of it re gives toadequate: rainfall for successful agriculture without irrigation; nd on the vast teblelands irrigetion is not very feasible because of the saall number ond the loca- tion of the rivers, Tho streams, for the most part, originaty in the moun- tain renges running porallel to the seacoasts, and they flow ecmparatively short distances into the Culf of # ‘ico or the Pacific Ocean. These streams cross few areas of land that are extensive and level enough to permit wide~ scale farming operations. The land surface of Mexico has been divided into zones by Adolfo Orive Alba according to the amount of rainfall and moisture available:)9 First, is the arid zone. This consists of the areas where there is not sufficient rainfall to raise crops, and where agriculture ean be carried on only by means of irrigation. ‘These constitute 52.1 percent of the total land area of the country, 18 Whetten, op. cits, pp. 5-6. 19 orive Alba, Adolfo, "La Polftica de Irrigaciéa," in Problemas Econdmico- Agrtcolas de México, (Crtubre-Diciembre de 1946 (México, 1946); pp. 105~ 7, T7 wySecond, is the semi-arid zone, This includes thosc areas where the noisture is uncertain and where usually there is insufficient moisture, or it is so poorly distrituted that crop failures are frequent. These areas constitute 30.6 percent of the total area of Mexico. Third, is the semi-humid zone. In these areas there is usually suffi- cient rainfall, but every four or five ycars it is deficient and irrigation is necessary, These areas constitute 10.5 percent of the total area. Finally, there is the humid zone consisting of those areas where rain- fall is sufficient for the growing of crops and where irrigation is unneces- sary, These constitute only 6.6 percent of the total land area, Thus it would appear that “2.7 percent of the total area of the Repub- lic is classified ac either arid or semi-ar: The scarcity of good farm land in relation to the number of people who try to wake a living through agriculture is certainly one of the important factors which contribute to a low level of living among the rural population, even at the present time. The Reforns of the Revolution, By 1910, all of these factors working together had relogated the vast majority of the habitants of Mexico to an inferior socio-economic posi- tion approaching that of serfdom whils the resources of the country remain- concentrated in the hands of a few, The lievolution broke out in 1910 and for ten long years kexico was involved in armed conflict. Thousands of peasants and peons followed the revolutionary leaders under the battle ery of ert: erra ("Land and Liberty"). Since 1920, the Mexican Government has been engaged, with varying de- grees of effectiveness, in carrying out the allcged ideals of the Madean 15Revolution. These ideals includes such items es lend for the landless, schools and books for the illiterate, the emamcipstion of the Indian, gen- eral improvement in the welfare of the masses, and democracy in government. Since those reforms have been ained specifically st improvement of the lot of the misses, it seems well to mention sone of the mere important ones be- fore turning to the question of what effect they have had on the class structure. The Government has carried out + vigorous agrarian progran of breaking up large haciendas and redistributing the land to persants. By 1945, 30,619,321 hectares had besn distributed to 1,732,062 rocipients.”° About one-fourth of this land was crop land while three-fourths was pasture, wood- land, mountains end waste, The average recipiont has reeeived only 4.6 hee~ tares of erop land and only 2 very ml part of this was irrigated land. Agrarian communitics have bon organized into giidos“+ with the result that, according te the Census of 1940, there ware 1,601,392 gildatarios.?? The population living on efidos in 19h0 amounted to 4,992,058 inhabitants, or one-fourth the inhabitants of Mexico. The glidatarios now heve possession of about half of the crop land in the nation, In addition, there were 928,583 small private landholders in 19,0 having plots of five heetares, or less, in sizo.23 Tt is estimated that ot least 40 percent of the total 20 \metten, op. gits, Pp. 135+ 21 tn ejido is an agrarien community thet hes reecived Innd in accordance with legislation growing out of the Revelution of 1910, 2 22 an edidatario is an individual whe has participated in a grant cf lend to the efide. 23 imetten, op. sits, p. 592population of Mexico either lives on fides or on small, privately-owned holdings heving five heetares or less.°4 Mexice has -lso been carrying on 2 program of education for the masses. Thousands of new schools have been organized, normal schools have been devel- oped te train teachers and campaigns against illiteracy have buen waged. I1- Literacy hes been reduecd from 7 percent of the populetion 10 years cf sge ond over, in 1910, to 52 percent in 1940, It is no doubt considerably below 50 poreent at the present tin Article 123 of the xiean Constitution is essentially a bill of rights for labor, Workers my crganize inte unions, eclicetive bargaining is man- datory, labor has the right te strike snd winimum wag ure proseribed. Mexico hes exnericnced over the years one of the highest death rates in the Western Hemispher2. She has instituted organized health programs in an effort to combat sickness and disease snd evidently hes made some progress in that the death rate declined from 26.6 per thousand inhabitants in 1930 to 20,6 per.thousend in 194k. This is still about twice as high as the death rate in the United States. These are but 1 few of the have been carried on in iy seforms the Mexico in an attempt to fulfill the ideals of the Revolution. in the opin~ ion of the writer, the revolutionsry programs have had the following effects lot of the mer upon the class structure: (1) improved somewhat tt ers of the lower class - this tas probably been the most important result of the ee 2h Thid., p. 565, See also Mereo Antonio Durén, "Del Agrarismo a la Revolu- cién Agrfcola," in Problems Eeonémico-Agricolas de México, Uetubre-Di~ clembre, 1946 (México, 1946), pp. 3-82. iRevolution; (2) stimleted on increase in the middle elass; end (3) shifted the composition of the upper class. TIT, THS PREDOMINSNCE OF THE LOWER CLASS ‘The vast mjority of the inh-bitants of Mexicc today would still be considered 1s members of the lower class, Most of the lendholdings arc ei~ thor so small, or consist of such poor lend, that it is very difficult to meke 2 living from thom, The techniques of sgricultural preduction » still so backward that modern stendards of offi ieney are not realized ox- The poon has beon transformed into the gjidats- rio but 28 such he is still living on > lew plane. In mony instances he has boon taught how to reed simple sentences but, for the ost pert, there are no newspapers, books or magazines in his isolated community on which to exoreise his newly acquired talent; and through prolonged disuse it my 25 gradually disintegrate. fecerding to an index worked ont by the writ 51.2 percent of the total population in 1940) All living on about the samo plane with reference to material culture as wes prevalent in the cole- nial period, The propertior wes 63.2 percent for localiti then 10,000 inhabitants, It was pointed cut thet many of the romeining in- habitants were living only slightly abeve that le Of all dwellings in the Republic in 1939, 44.9 peresnt were classified 5 huts by the Moxican housing census (censo de gdificios), In th» strictly rural municipalitics of the ceuntry, 58.8 percent of the dwellings wre elessifind es huts, and 25 wnetten, op. cite, pre 260k. 18in four states over 65 poreont.“£ Health problom: continue to be very seri- cus an@ although infant mortslity hes boen declining steadily the rate still stood st 117 in 1943 ac compercd with 9 rate of 40 for the sane year in the United States, Much of tho health problom my be due to the drinking of contaminated water since pure drinking water is very scares, especielly in the rural districts. In 1939, 56.6 porecnt of th: population in Mexico were living in dwellings where no drinking water was availeble. Thus, although Mexico has broken up the lend monopoly, and rodistrib- uted the land to the people who work it, and although educational end heolth programs have been promoted and other important roforms carrizd out, the levels of living snong the m es of the population heve bacn raised but lit- tle end widespresd poverty still prevails. Perhaps one should not expect that within the short spree of « fow years a people long accustomed to liv- ing under conditions aprroachin7 serfdom could suddenly produce a middle class, It takes a long time to increase greatly the levels of livins. Furthermore, it should be pointed out that the population of Mexico is now increasing so rapidly that many of the supposed benefits of the reforms are absorbed in supporting the additional numbers. IV, RISE CF A MIDDLE CLASS Although the vast majority of the Mexican people would still be clas- sified as lower class in that they work with the: y hands, live near subsist- ence levels, have received little or no educational training, are confronted — 26 ihid., pp. 286-7. 19with leck of sanitation, il] health, a hich death rate and general poverty - nevertheless a spark has been kindled and there is forming a nucleus of a middle class. The sources from which the prospective middle class springs may now be discussed. 1, As a result cf the Revolution and the various reforms stemming from it, the middle class has been receiving recruits from above. The mil- Lions of hectares of land redistributed to peasants in recent years havo While it come largely from the landed estates of the upper clays familie was originally stated in the agrarian laws that lands taken from private holdings would be paid for by the Government: at the rate of its assessed or declared value for taxation furposes plus 10 percent, actually few payments have becn made, oxcept to forcignerss and it is generally assumed that the lands nay be written off as @ complete loss to the fermer owners. During the early stages of the agrarian program, the lands taken from the hacien- das consisted largely cf vacant lands that were not being used. Put as the program gathered momentum it was ruled thet any land within a radius of sevon kilometers of a petitdoning village should be subject to expropria~ tion, with the sole exception that the owner would be entitled to retain 100 hectares of irrigated land, or its equivalent in other kinds of land, This ruling, of cours, resulted in widespread exprepriation of the large estates. The agrarian laws specificd that the buildings and oguipmont of tho hacienda were not subject to expropriation =xeept when they were deemed ab- solutely essential to tho onterpris: such as a sugar mill on a sugar cane plantation or a rice mill where ries wes a principal product. It was 20specifically stated that whenever buildinys or equipment wore teken the owner was to receive ju st componsation, At the height of the agrarian pro- gram, however, there wes tremendous tonsion between +) ariane”’ and the Jendowners and, in mny instances, skirmish:s occurred with the result that the omers and administrators and their famil: es fled for their lives to the cities. Sincu the lay also spucifiod that egrarians might take possos- sion of abandoned farms these properties were often taken over completely by the agrarians, Central Mexico is literally dotted with the ruins of old hacienda buildiny:s. Mony of those former hacendados”® have slipped from their secure posi- tions among the upper class and are now clinging tunactously to a position in the groving riddle class. Some hey> retained the small rements of their former estates and have sutti«d dewn to becoming middle class farmers; others ha disposed of their holdings, purchased a hone in Mexico City or are living modestly on forze: wings or on what might be earned in a snall business enterprise. Som have invested in real estate in Koxico City, while others have invested th ining capital in indus- try or cemerce, former hagendedos re now too busy trying to mako onds mest to be ela ified any longer among the upper elrss. Perhaps it sheuld be said at this point that the Revolution has not merely resul din loss of mer ere tu the upper class, There has been a tremendous amount of shifting up and down ths social ladder, Many have Tho term "agrarians" is usually secking to benefit from the agre: plied to lendlss rural inhabitants an laws. fn bacendado is an owner of sn hacicnda,found th: Revelution an efficient avonuy for climbing up te the upper elass from below, Haman frailties heve oftcn been conspicuous among thoss ch-rged with re onsibilities for administering end implomntdng governmental pro~ grams supposedly directed tovards the attainmnt of the idonls of the Revo- Jution, Som: have besn much more interested in using their positiens to gain wealth and prestige for thenselyes than to help the downtrodden masses.°? jumorous instanees have been repertod wherein perscns with only moderate incomes pre Jously have, after attaining responsible positions in the government, suddenly been able te require Mexico Gity and winter residsnecs in Cuernavacn, Acapulec or Som: wee still give lip service to the high idenls ef the Revelution appar- ently do so largely because this offers 2 convenient and rapid mans of on- ring inte the circle of new milliontirve who oe their existoney dl setly to the exploitation carried cut in the name of the Mexican Revol ition. Thus, although the ranks of the urpor elass heve been depleted rapidly on one hand, they are being replenished, on the cthur, by persons who have turncd the Revolution te their om advantey 2. another soure: of recruits for the middl. class in Mexico has been through the velopment of privately owed and opersted ferns, In addition to the agrarian program, Mexico has cerricd on, over the years, programs of irrigation and colonization, Irrigntion is re rded as 2 nations] respon- sibility and there is now orgwnized in the Mexienn Government 2 Seerctariat of Hydraulic Rescure This grew out of whvt we formorly the Nationel 29 soo Mendieta y Miffez, Lucio, La Administracién Piblica on México (México, 1942), po. 296, 308-9.Coumission of Irrigation, By 1945, there hed becn opened up for eultiva- tion, thrcugh government irrigetion projects, 379,000 hectares of lend; and 265,000 mors hectares, formerly provided with inadeqat: water, had been assured of an aduguete and deps.dable water supply through irrigation. It was estimated thet by 1946 nearly ot million hectares would have bean pro- vided with irrigeticn during the period since 1926. Some of these lands have been distributed to gjidatarios, others have been opened te ecloniza- tion by qualified persons and somz hove been sold outright in reasoneblo-sized ferm units. Another important eource of fair-sized ferms has beon the sub- division and sale of former hac: das by owners who wishrd te vecape con~ fiscation of their properties. In 19h0, thers were in Mexico 78,000 land holdings which veried in size from 50 to 1,00 hectares, This was an increase of 11 percent over the number of this size in 1930, Meny of these larger-sized holdings are cattle ranches in northern Moxice and are operated ty ranchers who live nob very unlike ranch families in western United States, The smaller holdings belong to farm fanilies who are struggling to msintain a respectable stand~ ard of living. Many of thum would be ecnsidered 2s members of the middle class. The sehools tend to serve somewhat as 2 Indder for climbing to the mid: class. This is especially true of the institutions of higher learn- ing. During the fiv ie period 1942-46, 25,401 professicnul degrees were conferred by the various universities and technica] schools of Mexico. Thess wire awarded to lawyers, grononists, ongineers, dectors, dentists, 23nurses, school teachers and others. Some join the liberal professions? and others go into government service. Most of then would definitely be classified among the middle class. A good example of rising from the low- er class through the schools may be observed at th> National School of Agriculture at Chapinge. This school consists of a seven-years course, eading with the preparation of an acceptable thesis, ‘The degree of "Inge- niero Agrénomo" ("Agricultural “ngineer") is awarded, The enrollment con~ sists of 400 boys. They are all supported by government scholarships. Sixty percent of the students are supposed to be selected from the agri- cultural population and most of these are drawn from the regional voca tional schools of agriculture vhich include mostly boys from peasant families. Thus these boys, mostly from subsistence farm families, get an opportunity to go to college and later to ome established in a profes- sion, which usually turns out to be government service, They thus enter the slowly growing middle class, Continucd expansion and improvement of facilities for public wducation is likely to accelerate this process. k, A fourth source for the growing middle class is to be found in the rolls of the government bureaucracy. ‘he revolutionary program has greatly augmented the functions of government and resulted in a tremen- dous increase in the number of government employves, By 1935, there were 149,102 public employees, including 79,759 federal, 31,671 state and 37,672 municipal employces.31 According to the Census of 1940, 191, “9 30 th the Census of 1940, Mexico listed 42,747 persons as werking in "Pro~ fessions and liberal occupations." 31 Mendieta y Mifiez, op, cit., pp. 290-1. 2hpersors in Mexico were onployed in "public administration" and these con~ stituted 3.3 percent of all gainfully employed. Tue number of federal em ployves has undoubtedly inercased greatly in recent years since many new agencies have been added and many of the old services have been expanded. A fairly large proportion of the federal and state employees would proba- bly be white-collar office workers and functionaries, end most of them would be classified as middle class, Many have small incomes but they have forsaken physical labor and are struggling to maintain a respectabls appearance and to acquire middle class symbols. ‘They probably employ a domestic servant, or two, to assist with the housework so that the wife as well as the husband may shake off the drudgery of physical labor which is generally regarded as indicative of lower class position. 3* They practice habits of cleanliness and sanitation and endeavor to provide thuir homes with furnishings that will distinguish them from those of ths lower class familics, Most of these government workers try hard to edueats their children and endeavor to acquaint thunselves with art and terature. Some try to maintain a much higher standard of living then their incomes justi- ‘These are sorely distressed when their clothes becom. = bit shabby and when their "respectable" personal appearance is threatanel, Sometimes they a hen placed in positions taupted beyond their powers of resistance + where they can handle public funds or exact illegsl fees for services rea- 32 Tn Mexico, household servants are chexp of upper Class rank, They are used extcusively by the middle class. Ac~ cording to the Census, there wore 75,258 dome servants in Mexico City in 1940 and these constituted 1.7 poreent of the total veononically active population of the city, Wwhetten, op, cit., Pe 64. «dare not necessarily a symboldered.?? 5. A fifth source of recruits for the middle class is found in Mexico's growing industrialization, ‘fhe Industrial Aevolution is just beginning te develop in Mexico. ixtreme isolation, lack of capitel, political instability and other factors have delayed this process much longer than in many cther western countries, Sut the index of industrial production has been gradually rising over the years especially in such centers as Mexico City, Nonterrey, Puebla and Guadalajara. According to an index worked out by the Ofic! ina de Barémetros Eeonémicos in Nexico, the volume of industrial production for the country as 2 whole rose from 87,6 in 1925 to 212.2 in 1944 (with 1929 equalling 100). In 1940, 10.9 pereent of Kexico's gai nfully employed were working in industry, In the writer's opinion, the directors, managers, and most, of the supervisors in the industrial establishments would belong to the middle class, Some of the more highly skilled workers would also rank as members of the mid- dle class although most skilled and unskilled laborers would be grouped in the lower class because of their comparatively low levels of living. 6. Finally, conmerce and trade should be mentioned as contributing to the growth of a middle class. In 194C, there were 552,457 persons in Mexico who were working in the various fields of commerce and trade. They constituted 3.3 percent of the gainfully employed of the country. Merchants and shopkeepers have been an important segment of the small middle class throughout Mexico's history. More recently, with the devel~ 33 Ipid., pp. 550-1. 26cpment. of urbanization and the expansion of highways and communication lines, they have inereaced greatly in numbers and importance, especially tant also in some of the in the larger cities. ‘They are becoming impor! more prosperous nericultural regions. In Torreén, Sor example, have ap- peared in recent years drygoods stores, garages, farm-mechinery stores, restaurants, hotels, ban':s end other business and commercial establi ments, Similar developments taking place in Ciudad Obregén and in other agricultural centers, Many of the proprictors and managers of these enterprises are definitely middle class snd their influence is be- coming increasingly importan Undoubtedly the tourist busincss is hy som: influence cn the growth of a middle class. Ther 282,000 tourists? who visited Mexico during the year 1946, for exumple, and made expenditures wile there amounting to millions of dollars, Hotule, stops, service stations, garages, and recreations? reserts and setabListuents have sprung up in re cent years in response to the thousands of tourists whe find Mucteo 2 de~ Liphtful place in which to spend a vacation, The tourist business pro- vides opportunities for employment of mangers, salesmen and whitu-collar office workers, most of whom would fall into the middle class. The Future of thy Middic Class. ‘The Future of the Middis Glass. Although there has been a rather rapid increase in the middle eis in Moxice in recent yoars, its future growth is somewhat problematicrl. As has been pointed out, abcut two-thirds of the poprlation are engaged 3h cién General de Compondio Estadfstico, 19, (México, Dire tadfstica, Pe 26.in agriculture, yet the goographicel environment is such that it does not lend itself well to the development of a high agricultural civilization, ‘he land holdings are at present too small and the land too peor to main- tain the present rural population at a level that could approach middle class standards. Considerable progress could result from improved tech- niques in farming and from better adaptation of crops to soils. The irri- gotion progran of the Mexican Government is steadily meking new lards available for cultivation, There are fairly extensive tropical areas in the southern coastal regions which sre now very sparsely settled and have reasonably adequate moisture. Sut these areas are isolated and difficult to settle because of the tropical diseases which prey upon man, It will take large expenditures of eapital to make thom habitable and usable. At the samo time it should be pointed out that Mexico's population is growing vory rapidly; so rapidly that the not inercase terds to absorb the improve- ments that would otherwise take place, It would appear that for years to coms most of Mexico's rural poyulation will continue to constitute a seg- ment of the lower class, It would appear difficult to increase the incomes in tho rural districte very greatly without 9 continued and substantial mi- gration from the rural te the urban areas and to other parts of the country which have always been sparscly settled. Much will depend on the success of Mexico's efforts at industriali- gation, Sh» lacks coal which has played an important role in cthcr indus- trialized countries of the West. She has oil and is counting rather heav- ily on the generation of hydroslectric power, She is now constructing @ number of important dams - three of which may furnish considerable power. 28These have been referred to as littl: WA's, If industrialization, now be- ing emphasized by the Mexican Government, mouts with a fair degree of suc- cuss, wo my look to th future for a moderete growth in the midis class popnlation - especially in the larger cities. Porhaps thy greatest stimlus to the ris: of a middl? class in Mexico is the shift in the outlook of the people that is coming about as a result of the ideals of the social Revolution that is taking placs. The semi- ndal. heritage previously tended to fester a static immobile socicty in which there was little or no place for a middle class. A Ings gap oxisted betwoon the small group of large landowners at tt top and ths grat numb: of peons at the bottom, The social Revolution has largely displaced the feudal environment: through the introduction of such ideals as "land for the landless," "land and books," and t oo" “amancipstion and incorporation of the Indien mass Much of the land has now been redistribul . Social welfare 1 slation has been snacted; minimum wages and working ccnditions have been estab- B ished; labor unions have been formed; educational facilitics are rapidly being extended and transportation systems develorsd. All of thi has tended te stimlnte hope on the part of the masses and to open th: channels of sceial mobility so that even despite all of the difficultics mentioned, there is now at least some chance of rising to middle class status from below. Storrs, Connecticut March 1949