| COLONIAL GUANAJUATO (6)The hacienda house is beautifully restored with colonial and 19th century furnishings. While we might imagine what it would have been like to live here, we should also keep in mind that the elegant life-style of the landowners was built upon the exploitation of the "peones" or landless peasants. Although slavery had been abolished in Mexico, the "peones" were little better than slaves. They worked for low wages, and the only way they could purchase food, clothing, and household goods was on credit from the landowner. They were not allowed to leave the hacienda as long as they were in debt, so they were bound to the landowner. When a peon died his debts were passed on to his children...thus creating another generation of virtual slaves. The hacienda system was one of the major causes of the Mexican Revolution of 1910. The battle cry of the peasants was "Land and liberty!" As a result of the revolution, the haciendas were broken up and land was distributed to the peasants. However, there are still large numbers of landless poor in the Mexican countryside, and even those who have land are barely able to eke out a living from their small plots. |
