From Haciendas to Rural Elites: Agriculture and Economic Development in the Historiography of Rural Mexico LAURA MACHUCA and ALEJANDRO TORTOLERO
Historia Agraria, 81 ■ Agosto 2020 ■ pp. 31-62 ■ DOI 10.26882/histagrar.081e02t © 2020 SEHA From haciendas to rural elites: Agriculture and economic development in the historiography of rural Mexico LAURA MACHUCA AND ALEJANDRO TORTOLERO KEYWORDS: hacienda, elites, agriculture, development, agrarian. JEL CODES: N01, N56, R14. historiographical overview is presented in this work, in relation to two key is- sues in Mexican rural history: the hacienda and the social actors that moved Athe agricultural sector, particularly the rural elites. This analysis begins with the classic works of François Chevalier and Charles Gibson, then provides an overview of different approaches (functionalist, sectorial, regional, neo-institutional, business and environmental) to analysing the hacienda. The study focuses on the historiogra- phy of rural (or agrarian) elites and its remarkable presence in recent academic works. The authors contend that Mexican agrarian historiography has overflowed its regional geographic scope to become a reference for Latin American historical studies. The de- velopment of agrarian studies in Mexico, especially in relation to the hacienda system, stems from the interest in explaining the agrarian nature of the Revolution of 1910. Di- verse and even contradictory interpretations have been proposed, which in perspective have allowed huge historiographical advances. 31 Laura Machuca and Alejandro Tortolero De las haciendas a las élites rurales: Agricultura y desarrollo económico en la historiografía rural mexicana PALABRAS CLAVE: hacienda, élites, agricultura, desarrollo, rural. CÓDIGOS JEL: : N01, N56, R14. ste artículo realiza un recorrido historiográfico sobre dos temas clave de la his- toria rural mexicana, como son la hacienda y los actores sociales que movían E el sector agrícola, en particular las llamadas élites rurales.
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