Boliva: Idle Land to be Distributed to Poor Farmers

Land reform can be simple and nonviolent, such as shifting tax burdens away from workers and onto land speculators. Or more complex government-run land reform plans can be tried. Will Bolivia make smart choices?

Here is a recent news report. Although brief, it hints at big changes.

A call to return illegally owned lands was launched by Bolivia's President Evo Morales, while warning that his administration will put an end to unproductive large landed estates.

On his Tuesday statement after assigning Saul Salazar as new director of the Agrarian Reform Institute, Morales highlighted the importance of solving the country's land situation.

The Bolivian head of state said the new official is obliged to respect the Constitution, which says State land should have social and economic use and end unproductive large landed estates, especially in the country's eastern zone.

Morales called for those who have received large extensions of lands as political favors or other irregularities to hand over them to the State, in order to be distributed among poor farmers.

The Bolivian president warned that, if they do not do it voluntarily, the government will rigorously apply legal rules to recover those lands.