Havana, May 17 (RHC)-- Cubans, especially farmers, celebrate this May 17th the 59th anniversary of the first Agrarian Reform Law, one of the most important measures adopted by the Revolution during its first stage.
The adoption of that law amounted to a total change in land ownership on the island.
This law, signed by Fidel Castro, served as a pretext for the United States to impose its blockade policy on Cuba, which continues to date.
In the 50s the Cuban countryside showed the concentration of arable land in a few hands, and most of those who worked did not own their property, others obtained low wages or lacked employment and lived in miserable conditions.
It is estimated that 1.5 percent of the owners owned more than 46 percent of the national farm land.
The Law banned large estates of more than 402 hectares and gave land to tens of thousands of peasants.
Two years after The Agrarian Reform Law, the National Association of Small Farmers was established, and the date is marked in Cuba as Cuban Farmers Day.