quiroga: a MEXICAN Minsricipio — brand 



61 



of the rural property is owned by 170 individuals 

 bearing 20 different family names. The property 

 of the Comunidad de Quiroga is valued at $9,090 

 (this does not include private property of the mem- 

 bers of the comunidad) which can be compared 

 with the 1945 valuation of $100,000 for the lands 

 of the Comunidad Indigena de Santa Fe, and 

 $32,790 for the lands of the San Andrfe community. 



Under the present laws even the largest land- 

 owners in the Quiroga area are considered to be 

 small property holders, and are protected by the 

 changes (1940, 1943, 1945, 1947) in the Federal 

 constitution (the famous Articulo 27) and in the 

 agrarian code. The lands subject to seizure must 

 be within 7 km. of the center of the agrarian com- 

 munity requesting lands. No land may be taken 

 from an individual who does not own more than 

 100 hectares of tierra de riego or jugo, or its equiv- 

 alent in other classes of land. One hundred hec- 

 tares of riego are considered to be the equivalent 

 of 200 hectares of temporal, or 400 hectares of 

 pasto, or 800 hectares of cerril. La TLrlmicua, the 

 largest holding in the area, probably does not con- 

 tain more than 260 hectares of land of all classes. 

 The median-sized parcel is valued at between $200 

 and $300 and probably comprises second and third 

 class temporal amounting to about 2.5 hectares. 

 The absolute range in the size of rural holdings 

 (other than house plots) is from 3/100 of a hectare 

 (3 areas) up to about 260 hectares. 



The total area of rural property in the Quiroga 

 area is highly problematic. In the absence of sur- 

 veys and adequate statements in the tax returns 

 we must rely on estimates. We had planned to 

 make an instrumental survey (plane table, ahdade, 

 compass, and steel tape) of the area but pubhc 

 opinion quickly forced us to give up the plan. We 

 did make a number of sketch maps based on 

 some triangulations (made at the end of our first 

 stay) and whenever possible we took notes on field 

 areas based on casually paced distances and sur- 

 reptitious use of a pocket compass. As stated pre- 

 viously, we estimated the area of Quiroga and its 

 ranchos to be about 52 sq. km. or 5,200 hectares. 

 Perhaps 27 percent of this area is occupied by the 

 town proper of Quiroga, the buildings in the 

 ranchos, pubhc roads and barren unclaimed spaces, 

 and bare rocky peaks and completely denuded 



slopes. The remaining 73 percent comprises the 

 rural properties. We have estimated about 53 

 percent of the total to consist of pastal, monte, and 

 cerril (essentially nonarable lands included within 

 the rural properties). At a mean value of $20 per 

 hectare this would amount to $55,120. The re- 

 maining 20 percent is arable farm land, which 

 probably is distributed: 2 percent of riego and 

 humedad (104 hectares at a mean value of $500) 

 worth $52,000, and 18 percent of temporal of all 

 grades (936 hectares at a mean value of $100) 

 worth $93,600. This would give a total value of 

 $200,720 for rui-al property, which is quite close 

 to the figures obtained from the tax rolls ($199,- 

 980). Our figure of 1,040 hectares of cultivated 

 land compares well with the estimates we ob- 

 tained from a number of the business men and 

 farmers in the area. The concensus of their esti- 

 mates was that there were about 1,100 hectares 

 distributed as follows: In the vicinity of the Villa 

 de Quiroga and extending southward to Patam- 

 bicho and Zirandangacho, some 400 hectares of 

 the best land in the area ; in the general La Tirlmi- 

 cua area, about 300 hectares; in Icuacato and 

 Sanambo, another 300 hectares; and in Atzimbo 

 and Caringaro about 100 hectares. Accepting the 

 rounded estimate of 1,100 hectares of arable land, 

 there would seem to be an average of about 27/100 

 of a hectare or 2/3 of an acre per person. 



We did no more than scan the tax records on 

 lU'bau properties. Suice these records commonly 

 only gave the location of the plot {suerte, finca, 

 predio, solar, terreno suburbano) by bounding street 

 or streets, and practically never gave dimensions 

 or areas, we could form no idea as to the range and 

 average sizes involved. The most valuable plots 

 were those in the center with the most costly build- 

 ings, and some others away from the center with 

 water rights, numerous fruit trees, flour or nixtamal 

 mills, tanneries, and tUe factories. According to 

 the 1940 census 357 persons owned urban prop- 

 erty, and there were 570 households, which would 

 indicate that about 2 out of every 5 households are 

 hving in rented houses. According to the same 

 1940 census 28 of the owners of urban property 

 and 18 others in the town of Quiroga (a total of 

 only 46 individuals) o^vned rural property. A 

 check of the tax roUs revealed that approximately 

 double this number actually owned rural property. 



