Land Tenure in Peru: A CIDA Study

Abstract

WHILE STUDYING THE PERUVIAN ECONOMY during June and July, 1967, we came across a fascinating book that is wrapped in an aura of mystery and intrigue. It is called Tenencia de la Tierra y Desarrollo SocioEconomico del Sector Peru. The title may be translated as Land Tenure and Socio-Economic Development of Agricultural Sector. Peru. This volume of 538 pages was published by Pan American Union, Secretary General of Organization of American States, Washington, D.C., 1966. It is listed on title page as publication, and in this article we will refer to it as the study. CIDA stands for Comite Interamericano de Desarrollo Agricola. This organization is made up of following: Organization of American States (OEA), Inter-American Bank for Development (BID), Food and Agriculture Organization of United Nations (FAO), Economic Commission for Latin America of United Nations (CEPAL), and Inter-American Institute of Agricultural Sciences (IICA). was created at time aproval was given Charter of Punta del Este, which also created Alliance for Progress. Its fundamental purpose is to coordinate activities of agricultural planning and agrarian reform. One would thing that a book issued under such distinguished sponsorship and published during previous year would be readily available, but such was not and is not case. Apparently study was withdrawn from sale because it proved to be embarrassing to large landowners, who are part of oligarchy that dominates Peru. The book was not for sale anywhere in Peru. We were told, however, that it could be bought from office, care of Pan American Union, Washington, D.C., or from Instituto de Capacitaci6n E Investigaci6n en Reforma Agraria in Santiago, Chile. Our attempt to buy book in Chile elicited a reply saying that book was not available there but it could be obtained from office in Washington. However, Washington office of did not have any copies available. We were finally able to borrow a copy of study from a Peruvian government official. The book is really second edition of study on land tenure in Peru. A first and much shorter edition was published sev-