Article 27 and the Promise of Agrarian Reform in the Mexican Constitution

As a reaction against the extreme economic inequality caused by the hacienda system of land tenure in Mexico in the early 20th century, Article 27 of the Mexican Constitution of 1917 promised the redistribution of large tracts of land to small peasant communities. The article was a turning point in the Mexican Revolution by enshrining the radical promise of agrarian land reform into law, forcing subsequent Mexican presidents to commit to redistributing land to the peasantry.