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This is to certify that the

thesis entitled

A LAND-USE STUDY OF COMMERCIAL AGRICULTURE

IN CHIAPAS, MEXICO
presented by

ROSEMARY LOUISE GUNN

has been accepted towards fulfillment
of the requirements for

_Ph . D. degree in Geo graph);

W

Major professor I

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ABSTRACT

A LAND-USE STUDY OF COMMERCIAL AGRICULTURE
IN CHIAPAS, MEXICO

By

Rosemary Louise Gunn

Agriculture is the economic way of life in Chiapas. Although
subsistence cultivation has continued from pre-Columbian times through
the centuries, it is now giving way to commercial agriculture based on
tropical crops. Coffee, cacao, bananas, and cotton are representative
of the many specialties presently cultivated in the state. Little
published material is available for review; and, therefore, the
research was directed toward field observations and interviews
concerning the techniques of cultivation used by farmers. An analysis
was to identify the techniques most useful for the further development
of commercial agriculture and to predict the future of commercial
agriculture in Chiapas.

Coffee, the most valuable export cr0p of the state, has been
successfully grown for the past century. The methods used in its
cultivation are notably primitive. Yet, because of the success to
date, planters are reluctant to try new techniques. Cacao is the
oldest commercial crop in the area and one of the least stable.

Cacao planters will try new techniques, but are equally willing to

Rosemary Louise Gunn

cease growing the crop. They are not willing to change the methods of
processing, however, in part because they have no incentive to change.
The market is controlled by the government, and the prices are fixed at
a low level. Bananas are again under commercial cultivation after
almost total destruction through plagues and hurricane damage. Banana
planters are few in number, but are among the most progressive farmers
of the state. Real expansion of the crop awaits a stable export market.
Until then, banana production will be small in volume and limited to
the Mexico City market. Cotton has expanded rapidly under government
auspices. All the adjuncts of modern commercial agriculture are
employed in its cultivation. However, as a high-cost crop its exist-
ence depends upon the availability of credit. Without it, cotton
would soon fade from the scene. Other crops are commercially culti-
vated but, although valuable, do not dominate commercial agriculture

as do the preceding four. Analysis suggests that the location and
areal extent of the four leading crops will shift as the cultivation
of other craps expands.

The findings of the study indicate a potential for rapid deve10p-
ment of commercial agriculture, but a number of problems must yet be
resolved:

1. As in many other tropical or developing areas, the
transportation system of Chiapas is primitive. Existing
roads and railroads need improvement, and new roads
must be built.

2. The present land tenure system, although it has favored
many small farmers, also encourages evasion of the law
by large landholders. The glide system operates satis-

factorily at present in Chiapas, but is likely to promote
excessive subdividing of land holdings in the future.

Rosemary Louise Gunn

The knowledge of farm techniques and attitudes toward
physical labor and personal management of farm prop-
erty needs improvement.

Farmers alone can no longer change the character of an
agricultural region. Rather, much of the direction must
come from the government.

The most potent instrument for agricultural change is
readily available and abundant credit. However, credit
must be accompanied by wise planning on the part of the
government and put into effect through well-trained
agricultural experts.

Little research has been done in Chiapas; and, although
published data are scant and unreliable, the area offers
rewarding Opportunities for further study.

A LAND-USE STUDY OF COMMERCIAL AGRICULTURE
IN CHIAPAS, MEXICO

by

Rosemary Louise Gunn

A DISSERTATION
Submitted to
Michigan State University

in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY

Department of Geography

1976

DEDICATION

To my dearly loved mother

I sincerely dedicate this research

PREFACE

A chance remark made during a Latin America seminar at Michigan
State University led to the subject of this research. Discussion was
centered around the importance of Mexico's leading coffee region, in
Veracruz State, and a passing reference was made to how little was
known about the second most important coffee region in the state of
Chiapas. With an abiding love for trOpical areas and a regional
interest in Latin America, that remark remained in my mind.

As a geographer, I am deeply interested in rural culture; and
yet as a regionalist I have convictions of the necessity to learn
about all aspects of a region. Here then was the opportunity to meld
my various interests into one package. Coffee as an agricultural cr0p
would lead me into the rural areas of the tropics, and I would be
concerned with an economic study of human activities.

In the review of literature, Chiapas emerged as an unpolished
and multi-faceted agricultural jewel; and the scape of the research
began to broaden. Coffee was only one of several commercial crops.
Finally, three more crOpS--cacao, cotton, and bananas--were added to
the subject of research. But a purely economic study was not the aim.
Instead, the underlying theme became a question of how much the agri-
cultural methods used by farmers affect the development potential for

commercial agriculture in a region.

ii

My appreciation for aid and encouragement in this research extends
to a host of peOple, of whom only a few can be mentioned here. First
and foremost, my gratitude goes to Dr. Clarence W. Minkel, academic
advisor and chairman of the Guidance Committee, for his advice and
encouragement. The guidance and assistance of Drs. Robert N. Thomas,
Daniel Jacobson, and Joseph Spielberg, all of Michigan State University,
are gratefully acknowledged. My thanks also belong to the late
Dr. Paul C. Morrison on whose death I lost a friend and a counselor.

My very special thanks goes to Dr. Clarence Vinge who graciously
agreed to join the committee because of Dr. Minkel's absence in
Brazil.

In Chiapas many planters, exporters, government employees, and
friends gave invaluable assistance. Ing. Manuel Garcia E., of the
Instituto Mexicano del Cafe; in Chiapas, provided much information
and enlisted the aid of his field agents to help in the field.

Sr. Socrates Castillo y Porrasco, of the Unidh de Algondoneros, and
each of the agricultural agents of the Secretaria de Agricultura y
Ganaderia gave willingly of their time and expertise. The many secre-
taries and office assistants likewise gave assistance with a smile and
deserve my sincere appreciation.

Many finqueros, rancheros, eiiditarios, businessmen, and small

 

 

farmers gave freely of their time and assistance in the field inter-
views. Among them Sr. Moises Mfiguerza, Sr. Hernando de la Torre,
Sr. and Sra. Arthur Gehrke, and Sra. Carlos Bernstoff became personal
friends as well as interviewees.

Among the many friends met in Chiapas, I offer my appreciation
to Ing. Carlos Albores Garcia, who spent many long days accompanying

iii

me and assisting with my interviews. Sr. and Sra. Juan Sanchez, in
whose home I resided during my stay in Chiapas, became a second family
'to me and my mother.

To my best friend, Dr. Betty Schroeder, whose encouragement has
sustained me through many difficult moments and who has promised a
perfectly typed final manuscript, I offer an imperfectly expressed
but very special thank you. To Jean Hirschy who typed and retyped
my scribbled draft capies, I also give thanks. Finally, to my mother,
who not only accompanied me to Mexico but who also constantly encour-

aged and assisted me, I give my wholehearted gratitude.

iv

LIST OF

LIST OF

Chapter
I.

II.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

TABLES .

FIGURES

INTRODUCTION .

The Problem

Objectives .

Procedure . . . . . . .
Limitations of the Data
Related Literature .
Findings .

THE STATE OF CHIAPAS .

Physical Characteristics .
Pacific Coastal Plain
Sierra Madre de Chiapas
Central Depression .
Meseta Central .
Eastern Mountains
Northern Mountains .
Gulf Coastal Plain .

Social and Economic Characteristics

Pacific Coastal Plain and South Slope.

of the Sierra Madre . . . .
Central Depression and North Slope
of the Sierra Madre
Central Plateau
Eastern Mountains
Northern Mountains .
Gulf Coastal Plain .

Page

ix

17

19
19
23
24
26
27
28
28

29
34

37
41
44
45
47

Chapter
III. COMMERCIAL CROP REGIONS

Regions of the Four Commercial Cr0ps under Study .

Coffee .
Cacao

Bananas
Cotton .

Other Crops and Livestock
Corn .
Rice . .
African Palm Oil .
Yucca
Cattle .

IV. PRODUCTION TECHNIQUES: COFFEE AND CACAO .

Coffee . .
Land and Labor .
Other Inputs . .
Fertilizers, Insecticides, and Other
Chemical Aids
Machinery . . .
Marketing and Transportation .
Markets .
Market Centers . .
Transportation from Farm to Market .
Transportation from Market to Final
Destination

Cacao .
Land and Labor .
Other Inputs .
Machinery
Irrigation .
Harvesting . .
Marketing and Transportation .
Markets .
Transportation .

V. PRODUCTION TECHNIQUES: BANANAS AND COTTON .

Bananas .
Land and Labor .
Other Inputs .

Fertilizers
Insecticides .
Irrigation .
Machinery

vi

Page
49

50
50
SS
60
63

67
67
68
70
70
70

72

72
73
79

81
82
85
85
87
88

90

91
91
94
95
96
96
97
97
98

100

100
101
105
105
106
107
108

Chapter

Harvesting . .

Marketing and Transportation .
Markets .
Marketing Agents .
Transportation .

Cotton . . .

Land and Labor .

Other Inputs .
Seeds . .
Fertilizers and Insecticides .
Machinery

Harvesting . .

Marketing and Transportation .
Markets .
Marketing Agents .
Transportation .

VI. ANALYSIS OF THE STUDY

Production Trends
Coffee .
Cacao
Bananas
Cotton .

Obstacles to Further Development .
Communication
Land Tenure . .
Production Techniques
Credit .
Markets .
Technical Assistance .

VII. THE FUTURE OF COMMERCIAL AGRICULTURE IN CHIAPAS

The Four Craps of the Study
Coffee . . . . . .
Cacao
Bananas
Cotton .

Other Commercial Crops .
Government Activities

Prospect .

vii

Page

108
109
109
110
110

111
111
114
115
115
117
117
118
118
119
120

122

122
123
129
132
134

136
136
141
144
145
147
150

152

154
154
157
159
160

162
165
168

Chapter Page

VIII. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173
Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180

The Quality of Existing Commercial
Agriculture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
Characteristics of the Human Resources . . . . . . . 182
The Role of the Government . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184
The Potential for DevelOpment . . . . . . . . . . . 186
SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188

viii

Table

10.

11.

12.

13.

LIST OF TABLES

Labor Force on Chiapan Coffee Plantations, 1972

Estimated Source of Temporary Labor in Chiapas
for Cotton Harvest .

Average Shipping Costs for Cotton in Chiapas
Per Metric Ton .

Coffee Acreage and Production in Chiapas .
Size and Type of Coffee Farms in Chiapas .

Form of Management and Size of Labor Force for
Fincas of 240 Acres or More

Cacao Acreage and Production in Chiapas

Cacao Yields per Acre on Selected Sample Cacao
Farms in Chiapas During 1971

Banana Acreage and Yield in Chiapas Since 1930 .

Cotton Acreage and Yield in Chiapas
Type of Roads in Chiapas .
Classification of Coffee Acreage .

Lesser Commercial Crops 1971-1972

ix

Page

77

114

120
125

126

127

130

131
133
135
138
155

162

Figure
l.

2.

10.
11.

12.

LIST OF FIGURES

Location of Chiapas

Chiapas:
Chiapas:
Chiapas:

Chiapas:

Chiapas:

Chiapas:

Chiapas:

Chiapas:

Chiapas:

Chiapas:

Chiapas:

Municipios .

Physiographic Regions
Pacific Piedmont Towns .
Coffee Region

Cacao and Banana Regions .

Cotton Cultivation .

Selected Craps and Livestock Areas .

Flow of Migrant Labor
Communications .
Development Projects .

Potential Agricultural Regions .

Page

20
36
51
S6
64
69
80
137
167

169

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

Since World War II the drive toward economic development for all
nations has grown very strong. Until recently such development was
sought through an elaboration of an industrial base, but experience has
suggested that continuous industrial growth requires a similar growth
in agriculture. In Mexico growth in the industrial sector was accom-
panied by agricultural change. Because "Land and Liberty" was one of
the unifying themes of the 1910 Revolution, the government was forced
to begin some kind of agricultural program. Land was exprOpriated from
large estates and given as ejidos (inalienable communal prOperty) to
villages or groups of laborers. Little attempt was made to evaluate

the quality of the redistributed land; and often the ejiditarios found

 

themselves with land that was, at best, marginal for cultivation. When
most of the expropriated land had been distributed, many farmers were
still without land and more was needed. As the central section of
Mexico was heavily p0pulated, the only large areas of unused or under-
used land lay on the periphery of the nation. The arid lands of the
North required water to make them productive, and a program to irrigate
them was begun. The Laguna Basin, the Rib Bravo (Grande), and the
southern part of the Colorado Delta became the foci of several irriga-

tion projects. The deveIOpment of these northern lands initiated

Mexico's agricultural "frontier" program, and today these same areas
account for much of Mexico's large cotton production.

More ambitious plans to develop entire river basins, both indus-
trially and agriculturally, have centered upon the frontier of the
rainy tropics. The Papaloapan Basin became the first major tropical
river basin selected for development. The industrial section of that
program was not initially successful, and agricultural achievement was
limited. The Papaloapan Project led to similar plans for smaller rivers
in Veracruz, Tabasco, and Campeche. Now the Grijalva and the Usumacinta,
two major basins in southeastern Mexico, are scheduled for deve10pment.
Because the Usumacinta flows for part of its length along the border
between Mexico and Guatemala, deve10pment of this river must await
cooperative action by the two countries. But, work is already in
progress on the Grijalva Basin. The first of four phases, the huge
Netzahualcoyotl Dam at Malpaso, has been completed; and work on the
second phase has begun. This project is aimed primarily toward the
production of electricity for the nation. Locally it will benefit the
state of Chiapas, another of Mexico's agricultural frontiers.

Comparable in size to the southern peninsula of Michigan, Chiapas
is an agricultural state with little industry. Located between the
Isthmus of Tehuantepec and Guatemala (Figure 1), Chiapas is mountainous
and tr0pical. A southeast-northwest depression, the Grijalva Valley,
cuts through the center of the state. To the south of the depression
the mountains fronting the Pacific drOp precipitously to the narrow
coastal plain, the Soconusco. Descent from the mountains on the north
side of the central valley is more gradual, and hilly uplands merge into

the Caribbean coastal plain on the border between Chiapas and Tabasco.

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The population growth averages about 3 percent per year. From 1950
to 1970 the number of pe0ple increased from 907,000 to 1,560,053, of
whom more than 1,000,000 were rural. Chiapas has three large cities,
which are growing at approximately the same rate as the state. The
cities and most of the towns serve as markets or collecting centers
for the state's agricultural products.

In the past Chiapas offered a nearly ideal situation for the
development of commercial crops for export. Large tracts of unused
land, suitable climate and soils, and a not-too-distant source of
labor (the meseta) were available. Transportation was the principal
handicap. The state lacked roads, railroads, and harbors. But, at
the end of the 19th century the first step was taken to improve this
situation. A railroad was built along the Pacific coastal plain.

In the 1950's, the Inter-American Highway was completed through
the highland settlements in the center of the state to the Guatemalan
border. And, in the 1960's a coastal branch of that road was added.
Northern Chiapas is serviced by the road and railroad which connect
the Yucatan Peninsula with Mexico City.

Specialized agriculture in Chiapas began before the 16th century
when cacao was exported to central Mexico as tribute to the Aztec
Empire. In the last half of the 19th century German planters, entering
via Guatemala, began coffee cultivation near Tapachula. Banana culti-
vation followed coffee, and in the 1960's cotton became the newest
major commercial crop. More than twelve other crops are of high value
and, in time, could be produced in exportable quantities. Few other
areas of the world can or do produce such a variety of cr0ps within

the confines of a single political subdivision.

The Problem

 

For many nations, especially those in trOpical regions, concern is
centered upon initiating commercial agriculture, assuming that once
started such agriculture will gain momentum and maintain itself. Little
attention has been given to the manner in which an already established
tropical commercial agriculture develops more completely. It is reason-
able to assume that within the internal structure of agricultural areas
there are modes of operation which, having adjusted to the requirements
of the region, aid in development. Therefore, a land-use study of com-
mercial agriculture in Chiapas, Mexico, was pr0posed. As Chiapas has
a partially deve10ped commercial agriculture which includes a variety
of cr0ps, the research proceeded under the hypothesis that in Chiapas
there are patterns of operation which are common to all of the crops
grown in the commercial agriculture areas of the state and that these
patterns have positive effects on both the way commercial agriculture
deve10ps and the chance of reaching maximum potential deve10pment.
Under this hypothesis the purpose of the research was to identify the
current patterns of operation and use them to predict the future
development of the area.

For purposes of this study commercial agriculture was defined as
that agriculture in which cr0ps are grown for market and not to pro-
vide daily subsistence for the grower. The cr0ps so produced are sold
interregionally rather than in local markets and are not the occasional
surplus of subsistence agriculture. As a further limit to the study,
only those crops were studied which occupy the greatest share of land
allocated to commercial production and provide a major share of the

revenue earned. In 1969 the most important creps of Chiapas had a

value Of $101,417,600. Of these coffee, cacao, cotton, and bananas
were valued at $61,325,120 or approximately 60 percent Of the total.
Therefore, these four crops were selected for research.

The factors assumed to be most pertinent and those which affect
the patterns of Operation in Chiapas are 1) specific crOps produced,
2) inputs such as fertilizers and pesticides, 3) techniques of farming,
4) labor, 5) markets and marketing procedures, 6) transportation,
7) land tenure systems, and 8) government activities such as taxation
and technical assistance. Using these factors, the research attempted
to answer the following questions:

1. What are the acreage and value Of each major commercial

crOp?

What fertilizers and pesticides are used?

How do the forms Of tenure affect commercial agriculture?

What techniques Of production are used?

What amount and type Of labor are used in commercial

agriculture?

Where and how do the markets Operate?

What are the marketing procedures?

Where and how is the labor Obtained?

What forms of transportation are used?

What are the costs of transportation?

What are the forms Of government interest in commercial

agriculture?

12. What is the potential for the expansion of commercial
agriculture?

UlkLNN

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HOOOOVON

Objectives

 

TO analyze and predict the probable future deve10pment Of commercial
agriculture in Chiapas, these Objectives were pursued: l) delimitation
Of regions Of commercial agriculture, 2) delineation Of the areas Of
single crop specialization within the larger agricultural regions, and
3) determination Of the patterns Of Operation common to all commercial
agriculture and evaluation Of those most conducive to furthering its

growth.

Procedure

A bibliography was started prior to field work in Mexico, which
was conducted from January, 1972, to January, 1973, and was continued
there. The research plan was developed to include interviews with
government Officials and businessmen, plus a sampling of farmers engaged
in commercial agriculture. A continuing step throughout the year was
the gathering of statistical and general data, most of which were
Obtained through the Office of the Secretaria de Agricultura y Ganadaria
in Tuxtla Gutierrez, Chiapas. Surprisingly few published or unpublished
papers have been produced by that Office. Rudimentary records of yearly
production and hectares cultivated are kept, but little else. In addi-
tion to the collection of data, a search for base maps was made. The
need for base maps in a geographical study is essential and is also a
serious problem in Chiapas. All maps Obtained from the government and

private sources had some discrepancies in the boundaries Of municipios.

 

These are the smallest political units in Mexico and correspond some-
what tO the meets and bounds counties of eastern United States. After
consultation with agricultural agents, the base map selected was that
Obtained from the Office of the Constitucional Delagado Federal de
Agricultura. This map is used for Official work by that office.
Interviews with agricultural agents and businessmen associated with
commercial agriculture continued throughout the year. An attempt was
made to contact all Of the local agricultural agents Of the Secretarfa
de Agricultura y Ganadaria, Instituto Mexicano del Cafe: and the govern-
ment cacao buyers. Included among the businessmen contacted were the
export coffee buyers, managers Of government credit agencies, and
representatives of the associations, both Official and private, which

assist farmers.

Before the interviews with farmers could be conducted, it was
necessary to draw a sample. The 1960 census, which includes agricul-

tural statistics, was used to locate the municipios in which appreciable

 

quantities of coffee, cacao, cotton, and bananas are cultivated.
Because Of the impossibility Of develOping reasonably complete lists
Of names Of cultivators, a stratified random sample could not be used.

Therefore, a locational sample was chosen. There are 111 municipios

 

in the state Of Chiapas (Figure 2). Although variable in size and
frequently with poorly defined boundaries, they are the units for
which statistics are compiled. For this reason they were considered
the best units for use in the research.

In the early stages of research it was impossible to stratify the

sample either by crOp or by size Of farm. Therefore, the municipios

 

which produce the crops were divided into quadrants, three square miles
in size. Each quadrant was numbered, and quadrants were then selected
randomly. From each quadrant selected, one farmer was interviewed. A
list Of questions for each crOp was developed which corresponded to the
twelve questions of the problem, varying only where crop requirements
differed.

Because some locations could be reached only by trips of from one
to three weeks by horseback, and/or farmers in that location speak only
local Indian dialects, the services Of the agricultural agents or the
Indian bureau were employed for some interviews. However, whenever
possible, the interviews were conducted personally. Field Observations
were made at the time of the interviews, and as many as possible of the

other areas Of the state not included in the samples were visited.

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Catazaja
Judiez
Salto de Agua
Palenque
La Libertad
Sunuapa
Pichucalco
Ostuacah
Ixtacomitah
Ixtapangajoya
Solosuchiapa
Amatan
Sabanilla
Tila
Tumbali
Francisco Le6n
Chapultenango
Ixhuatah
Juitiupéh
Yajaldh
Tecpatah
Ocotepec
Tapalapa
Tapilula
Pantepec
Raydh
Pueblo Nuevo
Solistahuacah
Simojovel
Childh
Copainalé'
Coapilla
Jitotal
Huitén
El Bosque
Sitala’
Chicoasen
Bochil
Panteljo’
Ocosingo
San Fernandez
Villa Allende
Osumacinta
Soyalo I
Chalchuitan
Larrainzar
Chanal
Mitontec
Chenalho
Ixtapa

10

FIGURE 2 (Continued)

50.
51.
52.
53.
S4.
55.
56.
57.
58.
59.

60.
61.
62.
63.
64.
65.
66.
67.
68.
69.

70.
71.

72.
73.
74.
75.
76.
77.
78.
79.
80.
81.
82.
83.
84.
85.
86.
87.
88.
89.
90.

91.
92.
93.
94.
95.
96.

Chamula 97. Acapetahua
Altamirano 98. Motozintla
Cintalapa 99. Escuintla
Jiquipilas 100. Pueblo Nuevo
Ocozocoautla Comaltitlah
Berriozabal 101. Huixtla
Terén 102. Tuzantah
Tuxtla Gutierrez 103. Unidh Juarez
Zinacantén 104. Huehuetah
San CristObal 105. Cacahoatah

de las Casas 106. Mazatén
Tenejapa 107. Tapachula
Suchiapa 108. Tuxtla Chico
Chiapa de Corzo 109. Metapa
Acala 110. Frontera Hidalgo
El Zapotal 111. Suchiate
Oxchuc
Chiapilla
TOtOlapa
Teopisca
Amatenango

del Valle
Nicolas Ruiz
Venustiano

Carranza

Villa las Rosas

Villa Flores

Socoltenango

Comitah

Las Margaritas

La Independencia

Villa Corzo

La Concordia

Tzimol

Trinitaria

Angel Albino Corzo

Chicomuselo

Frontera Comalapa

Arriaga

Tonala’

Pijijiapah

Mapastepec

Siltepec

Amatenango de la
Frontera

Bella Vista

La Grandeza

Bejucal del Ocampo

Porvenir

Mazapa de Madero

Acacoyagua

11

Limitations of the Data

 

In develOping areas,such as Chiapas, the accuracy of data is diffi-
cult tO assess. The Secretaria de Agricultura y Ganadaria receives an
annual report from each municipio on the status of crops cultivated
within the area. In some cases the report is made by local agricultural
agents, but Often it is submitted by the municipio president. These
reports are partly the result Of personal Observation and in part esti-
mates based upon conditions Of the previous year, which in turn are
partially estimated. The state Of communications simply does not permit
verification Of estimates. However, one source Of verification on the
amounts sold interregionally does exist. Each municipio has a fiscal
station at the boundary of its territory where trucks are inspected and
taxed. Also, the government alone processes some crops, such as cacao
and cotton, resulting in accurate records. When all sources are com-
pared, the estimates can be adjusted to approximate reality.

Data on exported coffee from the Instituto Mexicano del Cafe are
accurate, since the growers cannot eXport without a quota permit. But
this does not include all coffee harvested, even of exportable quality,
for quotas are assigned according to the average yield for a given area
and not for the amount actually harvested. Quotas are needed only for
coffee that is exported. The proximity of the Guatemalan border is
another factor. Many thousands Of pounds of Guatemalan coffee find
their way into the Mexican market and add to the difficulty of com-
piling accurate statistics. Finally, Mexican land laws are strict and
limit the amount of land one man may own. The common practice of con-
cealing land in excess of the legal limit sometimes leads to the

reporting of lesser amounts harvested than is the actual case or

12

reporting part as being from one municipio and part from another. The
Official reports, for these reasons, should be taken as reasonable
estimates and not as exact figures.

Results of personal interviews must also be looked upon as esti-
mates, because the Mexican farmer enjoys being interviewed but does not
always give correct answers. Sometimes he fears that the answer will
reveal illegal land holdings, and sometimes he simply does not know the

answer. Rather than give no answer, he may give an incorrect one.

Related Literature

 

A review Of the literature indicates that very few geographers
have worked in Chiapas. Of those who have, only Philip B. Ellis studied
agriculture.1 He discussed the changes in agricultural land use that
have occurred with improvements in technical knowledge, equipment, and
communications and the effect Of these changes on the deve10pment Of
the towns in the Pacific coastal region. In common with the anthro-
pologists, American geographers have selected the highland Indian
cultures for study.2 In considering the impact of a new road to an
isolated community, A. David Hill had to touch upon agriculture.

Today, as in the past, anthropologists are the most active
researchers in Chiapas. Their work can be divided into two categories:
1) attempts to record all the important traits Of a single culture

before they are lost, and 2) analyses of changes that come with

 

1Philip B. Ellis, "Changes in Agriculture and Settlement in
Coastal Chiapas, Southern Mexico," Institute Of Latin_American Studies,
Occasional Papers Number 2 (University Of Glasgow, 1971).

2Philip Wagner, "Indian Economic Life in Chiapas," Economic
Geography, Volume 39, Number 2 (April, 1963), pp. 156-164; and A. David

Hill, The Chan in Landscape of a Mexican Municipio: Villa Las Rosas,
Chiapas (Chicago: Department Of'Geography,71964), Research Paper 91.

13

cultural conflict.3 To the anthrOpOlogist the most constant and dis-
rupting conflict for Indian cultures is that of contact with ladino
and modern technology.4

Mexican writers have published only a few books and articles on
Chiapas. Most Of these concern the entire state in a general study Of
history, geography, or economics. Two of the most useful are economic

. . / . . . .
studies. Chlapas economico 1s a rather encycloped1c work covering every

 

phase of economic activity in the state from the 1800's to the middle
of the 1900's, with emphasis upon the 1940's.5 One Of the four volumes
is a survey of agriculture. Similar, but less extensive, is the eco-
nomic survey by Vivd'EscotO using the 1950 census data.6 Both works
are more than ten years Old and, therefore, do not present the current

situation in Chiapanecan agriculture.

 

Two regional geographies by Karl M. Helbig are particularly
valuable in the description of coffee plantations and their Operation

. 7
1n the Soconusco coastal area and central zone of the state.

 

3Robert M. Laughlin, "The Tzotzil," Handbook of Middle American
Indians, Volume 7, ed. Evon Z. Vogt (Austin: University of Texas
Press, 1969); Laura Nadar and Duane Metzger, "Conflict Resolution in
Two Mexican Communities," American Anthropologist, Volume 65, Number 5,
Part I (June, 1965); and Pierre Van den Berghe and Benjamin N. Colby,
"LadinO-Indian Relations in the Highlands Of Chiapas, Mexico," Social
Forces, Volume 40, Number 1 (October, 1961).

4A ladino is a person of either mixed Indian-European ancestry
or of pure Indian ancestry who has become Europeanized in dress,
language, and outlook.

 

 

SMoises T. de la Pefia, Chiapas econ6mico, Volumes l-IV (Tuxtla
Gutierrez, Chiapas: Departmento de Prensa y Turismo Seccidn
Autogréfica, 1951).

 

6Jorge A. VivO'EscotO, "Estudio de’geografia’y demografia de
Chiapas," Sociedad Mexicana de geografiagy estadistica, Volume 87
(January-June, 1959).

 

 

7Karl M. Helbig, La cuenca superior del RiO Grijalva, trans.
Felix Heyne; and El Soconusco y su zona cafetalera en Chiapas, trans.
Augusto Muench (Tuxtla Gutierrez, Chiapas, 1964).

 

 

14

Further agricultural information about Chiapas must be gleaned
from the many government publications on Mexican agriculture.
Specific facts about Chiapas are rare in these, but they assist in
fitting Chiapas into the larger framework Of Mexico. Many studies
are concerned with the structural development of national agriculture
and put particular emphasis upon government policies which apply to
Chiapas as well as the rest of the nation.8 Others are limited to
smaller regions, especially those Of the northern irrigation districts,
and analyze one or more aspects of the structure.9

The vigorous pursuit Of land reform in Mexico and the deve10pment
of ejidos are unique and the cause Of much interest.10 Simpson's
study, a classic, is one of the earliest evaluations of the ejidos.11
Many problems which he found prevalent in the early years of the ejidos,
such as poor quality of the land, too little land, and lack Of trained
leadership remain as problems in Chiapas. Michael Belshaw's research
in a single village explains some of the social and economic problems

of the communal farmers in all areas of Mexico.12 His suggestion that

 

8Eduardo Venezian and William K. Gamble, A Review Of Mexican
Agricultural Development 1950-65 (Ithaca: New York State College of
Agriculture, 1966).

 

 

9Whitney W. Hicks, "Agricultural DevelOpment in Northern Mexico
1940-60," Land Economics, Volume 43, Number 3 (August, 1967).

 

OAn ejido is agricultural land, given to a group Of peOple, which
can neither be sold nor rented. Title to the land resides in the com-
munity and not with the individuals living there.

11Eyler N. Simpson, The Ejido: Mexico's Way Out (Chapel Hill:
The University Of North Carolina Press, 1937).

12Michael Belshaw, A Village Economy: Land and People of Huecorio
(New York: Columbia University Press, 1967).

 

 

15

the ejiditarios view the permanence of the ejido as something to be

 

questioned was an unusual one, never touched upon by other writers.

World agricultural development has been the subject of many books
and articles. Most are concerned with the application Of modern tech-
nology to subsistence farming and the great need for education and
research to improve the situation in develOping nations. Emphasis is
placed upon the social problems Of the subsistence farmer and the
development Of an infrastructure.

Most closely allied to the theme Of this research are the land-
use studies. These seek the causal factors for the location of partic-
ular crOps. Henshall and King found the physical characteristics Of
the land to be the only critical factors, but most Others find their
explanations of land-use patterns in a combination of physical char—

acteristics and historical antecedents.13

Findings

In most tropical areas where coffee, cacao, cotton, or bananas are
grown, these crOps are cultivated for export. The selection Of the
fOur crOps for study in Chiapas was made with the expectation that they
were exported. This expectation was not confirmed. Only coffee is
sold on the international market. Cacao, cotton, and bananas are sold
primarily in Mexico and are rarely exported. Of these three crops,
only cotton and a very small volume of bananas are cultivated under
modern techniques. The government controls the production Of cotton

very rigidly, and permission to plant it is given only if the farmer

 

13Janet Henshall and L. J. King, "Some Structural Characteristics

of Peasant Agriculture in Barbados," Economic Geography, Volume 42,
1966.

 

16

uses machinery, fertilizers, and pesticides. The rapid expansion of
this crOp is the result Of government demand and the availability Of
government credit.

Lack of credit and low prices are given as reasons for the decline
of cacao production. Prices are tOO low for the farmer to use ferti-
lizers or pesticides. Also, diseases cause heavy losses in the harvest.
Only where farmers can Obtain credit for cattle raising or cotton culti-
vation do they use any form Of fertilizer or pesticide for cacao. None
produce only cacao; all depend primarily on some other crop and may
grow cacao as a secondary source of income.

Coffee is the most important commercial crop in Chiapas, but the

cafetaleros as a group do not seek out improvements in cultivation

 

techniques.14 They seem to accept the methods of their fathers and
grandfathers as the only good way to grow coffee. In Chiapas only one
grower interviewed produces coffee without shade and uses chemical
fertilizers and pesticides.

Concern for the future productivity Of his land does not seem to

be a characteristic Of the average Chiapanecan farmer. When improve-

 

ments are needed, the government is expected to make them. Of all the
farmers interviewed (143), only the forty-eight commercial banana
growers seemed concerned about the future. They are former cotton

or cacao producers who turned tO bananas as a more satisfactory crOp

since about 1966.

 

14Cafetaleros are full-time large-scale coffee cultivators. In

Chiapas the term implies considerable prestige.

 

CHAPTER II

THE STATE OF CHIAPAS

The state of Chiapas contains nearly 4 percent Of the Mexican
national territory. It ranks midway in size between the largest and
smallest states. In a broad comparison, Chiapas resembles a miniature
Mexico. From the northern border of Mexico to just south Of Mexico
City the important landforms are a high central plateau with rugged
mountains on the eastern and western sides. With some differences,
Chiapas also has a high central plateau with two mountain chains at
the sides. As a part Of the North American physiography, Mexican
structures are oriented in a generally northwest-southeast direction.

Chiapanecan landforms, as a part of the Central American features,

 

have a similar orientation.

The long north-south extent Of Mexico places it within several
climatic zones, while the small size of Chiapas limits it to the
tropics. Nevertheless, temperatures in both are controlled largely

by elevation. The lowlands are known as tierra caliente (warm land).

 

Areas Of 2,000 tO about 6,000 feet in elevation are called tierra
templada (temperate land), and the cool higher lands are the tierra

fria.

 

Even more important to agriculture than temperature is the amount

Of rainfall. Except for the Gulf Coast and Chiapas, most of Mexico is

17

18

deficient in rainfall. On the other hand, precipitation in Chiapas
varies from sufficient to abundant; and a few small areas of northern
Chiapas receive the heaviest rainfall in Mexico, over 200 inches. The
heavy rainfall gives Chiapas more than one-third of the potential
waterpower of Mexico, which when developed is expected to supply
nearly 90 percent of the electricity available to the nation.

The comparison of Mexico and Chiapas cannot be extended to vegeta-
tion, for the tropical rainforests and wooded savannas of Chiapas are
completely dissimilar to the desert and semiarid vegetation over much
of the nation. However, in the higher elevations the forests of oak
and pine in Chihuahua and Durango are similar to those of Chiapas.

Culturally, Chiapas is again a miniature Mexico. Both have large
Indian populations, about 30 percent. These are settled in the least
accessible areas and retain the native languages, dress, and many other
cultural traits. Each has a small minority of peOple of unmixed
European descent and a large mestizo population.1 The latter two
groups control the best lands and the economy of the state and of
the nation.

Unlike the nation, Chiapas is more than 50 percent rural and is
lacking in industry. While agriculture remains important to Mexico,
the other sectors engage more peOple. In Chiapas agriculture is
critical. Most of the state's revenue comes from it, and most of the
people are farmers. Urban growth is limited. Although many people
live in clusters large enough to be designated as urban, such communities

have few qualities of urban life.

 

1A mestizo isa person of mixed Indian and EurOpean ancestry.

19

Physical Characteristics

 

The Chiapanecan farmers are only beginning to learn modern tech-
niques of cultivation, such as the use of chemical fertilizers and
pesticides, mechanical equipment, and the application of soil conserva-
tion methods. They are consequently closely tied to the physical
characteristics of the land.

As a result of the tr0pical location, between 14° and 18° north
latitude, hot and humid conditions are constant throughout much of the
state. Alternating high and low pressure cells over the land bring a
six-month dry period from January to June and heavy rains in the summer.

Only the northern municipios are located within a tropical littoral

 

climate and have rain every month of the year. Temperatures average
between 75° and 80°F, except in the mountains where temperature
decreases with altitude.

Physiographically, Chiapas has two distinct mountain chains
separated by a large structural depression and a high plateau. The
mountains, plateau, and depression cross the state from northwest to
southeast and divide it into seven bands or physiographic provinces
(Figure 3). These provide useful categories for description, because

many types of agriculture vary according to landform.

Pacific Coastal Plain

 

The Pacific Coastal Plain of Chiapas is but a small segment of
the coastal plain which begins at the Isthmus of Tehuantepec and

extends as far as Nicaragua. The Chiapanecan section is 180 miles

 

long, but less than ten miles wide. Only near the city of Tapachula

does it widen to more than twenty miles. This plain has a relatively

20

Tu.

 

mZO_omm

o_In_<m00_m>In_

m<m<_Io

 

n o~ao.m

        

mzahzai zmuzkmo z

 

2.44.

J<Pm<ou

I0
OI.

0.0.3.31 :3. .350m
oi
.uai
{TWO Q
.u\..\\.uv\l

.2.

 

21

flat surface, which is interrupted occasionally by remnant igneous
hills. It rises in a gentle gradient until it reaches 100 feet in
elevation, then steepens on the large alluvial fans which have been
built by the sixty-two rivers crossing the plain. Inland it terminates
at the foot of the mountains at approximately 800 feet in elevation.
The coast line forms a smooth curve without indentations of any
size, and there is no deep water close to shore. The lack of bays and
deep water prevented the development of natural harbors, which accord-

ing to the Chiapanecos is a serious problem for they must ship their

 

products from either Salina Cruz in Oaxaca or Coatzacoalcos in Veracruz
State. It is also an affront to their pride in the state.

Barrier bars and beaches line the entire coast. The shallow
lagoons enclosed by the bars at the western end of the state provide
the sites for small fishing ejidos. Drainage of the land surrounding
the lagoons is poor, and cultivation is impossible in these areas.

The government is aware of this and has planned improvements. A
large drainage project from the city of Tapachula eastward to the
Guatemalan border has been completed, and another near the town of
Arriaga is planned for the near future.

Starting on the Pacific slopes of the Sierra Madre, a multitude of
short rivers cross the plain. Turbulent in the mountains, these rivers
drop their loads of silt upon entering the plain and flow directly to
the sea. Their volume fluctuates with the season, and many are dry
by the end of winter. Few are navigable, even by canoe. Many flood
during the rainy season. Eventually these rivers are to be controlled
and the excess water of the rainy season preserved for irrigation

during the dry season, but such developments are many years away.

22

At present agriculture is geared to the wet and dry seasons. The
rains begin in June and end in November. Planting begins with the end
of the rains, and harvesting must be completed before they start again.
Although the rains are seasonal, they are strongly influenced by the
Sierra Madre. The mountains are highest at the eastern end of the
state and, correspondingly, the eastern plain receives ten to twenty
inches more rainfall than the west. The variation is greater, however,
with changes in altitude. At sea level the rainfall is sixty-five
inches, at 300 feet elevation it increases to 100 inches, and high on
the slopes of Tacana'volcano it is over 150 inches.

To obtain exact climatic data for the entire Pacific coast of
Chiapas is impossible for there are few recording stations. Those
that exist are, in many cases, less than fifty years old. Most are
clustered near the eastern end of the Sierra Madre and the piedmont.
They are generally located on large coffee fincas and ejidos in the
area.2 The western coastal plain has very few recording stations, and
most descriptions of the climate are based upon inferences drawn from
observations of the vegetation. As the vegetation changes to a semi-
arid type, a definite lessening of rainfall is indicated.

On uncultivated land in the southeastern coastal area, the vege-
tation is composed of dense, tropical, evergreen forests. West of the
municipio of Acapetahua it changes to lightly wooded savannas and low
xerophytic shrubs. A change also occurs in the soils. Eastern coastal

soils are red and yellow laterites mixed with volcanic ash and are

 

2Fincas are large, privately owned agricultural prOperties. Ejidos
are communally owned agricultural lands.

23

comparatively fertile. To the west, soils are those which could form
from a mixture of grass and forests, namely prairie podzols.

Land use also varies from west to east. Excluding small areas of
subsistence crops, western coastal lands are uncultivated. Most of the
land is in unimproved pastures of native grasses. In contrast, the
eastern zone has some of the most valuable land in Chiapas. This zone
is part of the ancient Xoconusco of the Aztecs. The old Xoconusco, or
Soconusco, was much larger and included part of the Guatemalan coast.
At the time of the Aztecs it was a land of flourishing cacao orchards.
Today, although diminished in size, it is known for coffee and cotton

as well as cacao.

Sierra Madre de Chiapas

 

The second physiographic province, the Sierra Madre de Chiapas,
is a mountain chain which starts in western Chiapas near the Isthmus
of Tehuantepec and continues through Guatemala, northeastern Honduras,
and as a submarine ridge across the Caribbean, emerging again on the

island of Jamaica. The Chiapanecan section began as a huge batholith

 

which was later uplifted and faulted. The average height of the
mountains is 4,500 feet in the west and 9,000 in the east. The high-
est point is the volcano Tacanafi on the border between Guatemala and
Chiapas, which attains an elevation slightly over 12,000 feet.

This mountain province is about 170 miles long and eighteen to
twenty miles wide. Its crest is a continental divide, and the rivers
that tumble down the steep south-facing escarpment drain toward the
Pacific. The escarpment, deeply incised by ravines, is a difficult

barrier to communication. Descent on the northern lepes is more

24

gradual, and the rivers on the north side of the divide form part of
two large drainage basins, the Grijalva and the Usumacinta. Scattered
throughout this side of the mountains are several large, level valleys,
known in Chiapas as llanos, which are fertile and highly prized for
agriculture.

As in any tropical mountain range, temperatures are mild to chilly
according to elevation, but no area has frost. Soils are forest podzols,
gray-brown in color. Up to 3,500 feet elevation, particularly on the

Pacific side, the forest podzols are so highly prized by the Chiapanecos

 

that they are referred to as the coffee soils. Rainfall varies accord-
ing to the direction of the lepes. Seaward or south-facing slopes
receive much more rain during the summer season, as much as 250 inches
in some areas, than do the northern slopes. The north SIOpes receive
rain from winds which must cross Chiapas from the Gulf of Mexico and,
because they lose moisture before reaching this mountain section, rain-
fall decreases to seventy or seventy-five inches. This difference in
rainfall finds expression in the vegetation. Tropical selva blends
into conifers on the higher lepes to the south, while on the northern
slopes are savannas and xerOphytic vegetation which changes to conifers

at much higher elevations.

Central Depression

 

Similar to the coastal plain and the Sierra Madre de Chiapas, the
Central Depression extends beyond the borders of Chiapas. In Guatemala
it continues as the Motagua Depression and into the Caribbean as the
Cayman Trench. In Chiapas it lies between the Sierra Madre and the

Central Plateau. Its surface is about 2,100 feet in elevation at the

25

Guatemalan border and rises gently along its length toward the north
and west to 2,700 feet. The valley of the upper Grijalva River occupies
the western part of the depression, and the remainder has been carved
into mesas, conical hills, and terraces by the many tributaries of the
Grijalva.

In general, the depression is hot and dry, temperatures averaging
75°F. Rainfall decreases to forty inches in the east and thirty-two in
the west. Vegetation is xerophytic bushes and shrubs, with trees only
along the rivers. The rainfall is sufficient, however, to maintain a
complete grass cover on the land. Soils in the plains and valleys are
mostly chernozems or of lacustrine origin with volcanic conglomerates.

The level plains and valleys joined with the llanos of the Sierra
Madre are commonly excellent farm lands and are sometimes called the
"corn crib" of Mexico, for they produce a surplus which is sold to
other areas of the country.3

The Grijalva River, which drains most of the depression, is the
second largest river in Mexico. It flows from southeast to northwest
against the rise of the land. The upper river flows through a broad
valley and often, during the rainy season, floods parts of the central
depression. Downstream it cuts through the northern mountains in a
high narrow canyon seventeen miles long. The canyon, El Sumidero, is
to be developed as a tourist attraction in the near future.

The volume of water fluctuates with the seasons, but the river is

never dry and is presently being developed for hydroelectric power.

 

3In Chiapas llanos refer specifically to level basins within the
mountains.

26

When the project is completed, it also will provide water for irrigation

of a few thousand acres in the Central Depression.

Meseta Central

 

The Meseta Central, the Eastern Mountains, and the Northern Moun-
tains are of one geologic background. Because of differences in
appearance and use, however, they are divided into three provinces.

The mesa is large, relatively flat and high, and rises abruptly in a
steep escarpment on the north side of the Central Depression. About
forty-five miles wide, it extends for ninety-six miles to the Guatemalan
border. Altitudes vary from 3,000 feet in the northwest to 6,000 in the
center, and from 3,000 to 4,500 in the southeast. On the plateau itself
are many minor mountain groups separating small basins which are the
sites of Indian communities. Much of the plateau is capped with lime-
stone, and karst landforms are common. This is especially true in the
municipio of Comitah, where caves and lakes are numerous. The Comitah
region has more than 100 lakes, which are noted for their many colors
and beauty. Now a national park, the area is to be developed as a
tourist attraction.

Because of the elevation, average annual temperatures in the Meseta
Central are at least ten degrees lower than the eighty degrees of the
Central Depression. Rainfall averages forty inches in the east, increas-
ing to fifty inches in the west. Vegetation is a mixture of mountain
grasses and broad-leaf evergreens, changing to conifers at the higher
elevations. Soils are mainly lateritic reds and yellows. But, within
the small basins soils are of alluvial origin mixed with volcanic ash.

In early times these basins were moderately fertile and supported dense

27

populations. Today, the population remains, but the soil suffers from
moderate to severe erosion. Agriculture on the plateau is limited
primarily to subsistence cropping in the west and a combination of
subsistence cultivation and livestock in the east, with a few areas

of coffee in the south and west.

Eastern Mountains

 

Along the northern side of the Meseta Central is an extensive area
of folded mountains lying in several parallel lines. These are the
Northern and Eastern Mountains. The division into northern and eastern
again arises from use, for the Eastern Mountains, more commonly called
the Selva Lacandona, are the least known and least used area of Chiapas.
The area is almost unsettled and is the home of the last remaining
Lacandon Indians. The Eastern Mountains are low, but rough. Averaging
4,000 feet near the plateau, they drop to small hills of 300 feet near
the Usumacinta River. Between the mountain folds run several parallel
rivers, tributaries of the Usumacinta. The largest of these is the
Jatate.

Little is known of the specific physical features. There are no
weather stations. Temperatures apparently average 76° to 80°F, and
soils are thought to be red and yellow latosols. It is a hot and humid
region covered with dense selva which changes to wooded savannas in
some areas. As on the plateau, there are many areas of karst land-
forms, particularly in the area of the Jatate River.

The Selva Lacandona is to the Chiapanecos a semi-mythical place

 

that sometime in the future will be an agricultural paradise, if they

ever want to develop it.

28

Northern Mountains

 

The Northern Mountains, as can be surmised, lie directly north of
the plateau and the Eastern Mountains. They extend for 150 miles in
an east-west direction and are about forty miles wide. From 4,500 feet
in elevation near the central mesa, they decrease in altitude toward
the north until they become low mountains of 1,500 feet near the town
of Pichucalco. Between the parallel folds of the mountains lie many
small valleys, level plains, and cuesta-like horsts. Wherever lime-
stone bedrock is found, there is another deve10pment of karst landforms.

Because this northern area of Chiapas lies within the boundaries of
the tropical littoral climate, temperatures and humidity are always high.
Rainfall is heavy, sixty to eighty inches, and distributed throughout
the year. No month is without rain, but the amount diminishes during
the winter. Tr0pical rainforest or selva covers the land up to 3,000
feet elevation. Above that, forests change to pine and cedar. Soils
are red and yellow laterites underlain by gley of particular stickiness,
which is difficult to manage when cultivated.

Almost every available level or gently sloped hectare is under
subsistence cultivation or cattle raising. However, the area is also
noted for its good quality coffee and cacao. It is less deve10ped than
the Soconusco, yet accounts for most of the cacao and a large share of

the export coffee grown in Chiapas.

Gulf Coastal Plain

 

The seventh province is the smallest in size. It is a thirty-
mile extension of the Gulf Coastal Plain within the confines of Chiapas.

Like the Tabascan plain, the area is extremely hot and humid. Rains

29

occur throughout the year, some areas receiving more than 125 inches.
Covering the uncultivated sections of the western area is a dense
tropical rainforest. In the lake area of the eastern section, selva
shades into tropical man-made savannas for the pasturing of cattle,
the leading economic activity of the region. Cultivation of the red
lateritic soils is limited almost exclusively to subsistence
agriculture.

The Gulf Coastal Plain is rather isolated from the main centers

of Chiapanecan life, and the economy is primarily oriented toward

 

Tabasco. This disturbs the government in Tuxtla Gutierrez. Officials
of the state government are trying to alter this situation by con-

structing new roads which lead toward the capital.

Social and Economic Characteristics

 

Most of the social and economic characteristics of Chiapas reflect
its agricultural nature. The steady,-but unspectacular pOpulation
growth, without major fluctuations from in or out migrations, and the
settlement pattern of small rural villages and limited urban develop-
ment are common to many agricultural areas in the world. The limited
non-agricultural segment of the population is engaged in small business,
government, and the few minor food-processing industries of the state.

About 70 percent of the population is ladino, with a few peOple
of unmixed Indian ancestry. The Indians, clinging to the old culture
most noticeably in dress and language, live in the less accessible
areas of the state where the pressure of change is less strong. The
Central Plateau, the Eastern Mountains, and the Northern Mountains are

the Indian stronghold, but even in these places Indian life is not

30

untouched. Often the Indian exists side by side with the ladino
rancher. Sometimes the distinctive dress is lost and the only outward
indication of Indian culture is the continued use of native language

in the area. Indian lands are entirely in ejidos, and today the
typical Indian is a subsistence farmer in a transitional state. While
most of the cr0ps are for the Indian's own use, some part of the land
is devoted to cash crops, which vary from area to area. In some places
the cash cr0p is coffee, in others cacao, and in still others truck
crops for nearby regional markets.

The ladinos and the whites in Chiapas control the more desirable
areas, especially in the Central Depression and the Pacific Coastal
Tflain, but in lesser numbers they also own most of the land in the
northern section of the state. They, almost exclusively, are the
commercial farmers specializing in coffee, cacao, cotton, bananas,
and other commercial crops.

With agriculture of overwhelming importance in the state, Mexican
land tenure laws are particularly important. One of the best known
effects of the Revolution of 1910 was the breakup of the large estates
or haciendas throughout Mexico, and the presentation of land to the
landless farmer in the form of communal Ejidg_property. Ownership of
small properties was not forbidden, but the size of the property was
strictly regulated. The amount of land permitted one owner depends
upon the quality. Land of prime quality, whether irrigated or with
sufficient rainfall for cr0pping, is limited to 100 hectares, or 240
acres. Decreasing quality of the land increases the amount allowed,
and exceptions are made for specific crops. Owners of coffee or cacao

land may have 300 hectares (720 acres), and cattle ranchers may have

31

enough land to graze 500 head of cattle. In Chiapas the accepted need
is one hectare per cow.

The 22192.15 the only form of land tenure without restriction as
to size. Each should be large enough to allot ten hectares to every
man. However, many ejidos have less land and Others have more. Ejidos
were, and are, formed from eXprOpriated hacienda lands or government-
owned vacant land. They were given to groups of ten or more farm

laborers. Such lands can neither be sold nor rented. Each ejiditario

 

must cultivate the allotted land to the satisfaction of the gjidg_council
or chance losing it. Although the land is communally owned, the Opera-
tion of the glidg_depends upon the wishes of the majority. It can be
Operated as a single large co-0perative, the government preferred

method, or more commonly as individual small plots. In addition to

the arable land, each 22192.15 entitled to wooded areas which provide
firewood for the homes.

As in many countries where undeveloped government lands exist,
Chiapas has land which is not set aside for specific development.

This land can be claimed by squatters. After they have cleared and
cultivated the land for at least five years, it becomes theirs.
However, they may or may not receive title to the land.

Settlement patterns in Chiapas are a heritage of the past,
reinforced by the government. Early agriculturalists lived in small
villages both as a means of defense and from mutual needs in culti-
vating the land. This practice was encouraged by the Spaniards who
could more easily control the farm labor if that labor lived in
settled places. Later the formation of haciendas included such

villages to ensure the permanence of the labor supply. Although

32

the revolution freed farm workers by destruction of the great estates,
the laborers remained in the villages as required by Ejidg_law. At
first only the villagers or former workers on the haciendas were
entitled to Ejid2_land, but later the law was amplified and allowed
any group of landless men to acquire Ejidg_land. Single individuals,
however, cannot form ejidos.

Only the crops to be grown and the manner in which they are

cultivated were left to the ejiditarios. The social organization was

 

very specific. Each man was entitled to a plot of land, the size
depending upon the size of his family and the amount of land available.
In addition he received a house site in the urbanized area. Although
called urbanized, such an area simply meant a village. This prevented
building homes on the individual lots of land and dissolution of the
gj;g;3 The original purpose was to control the pOpulace, fOr in the
early days the threat of revolt was always in the minds of government
officials. Today, the agglomerated nature of the ejidos simplifies
the attempts by the government to provide schools, medical facilities,
potable water, electricity, telephones, and telegraph service. The
cost of these would be prohibitive if done on an individual basis but
is within means of the government when done for an entire village.

The 21132.15 Operated as is any town. It has a president and
council who act for the inhabitants. The council is responsible for
assigning the land and overseeing its care. The important rule is
that the land may not be rented or remain uncultivated. Living on
the slide is not restricted to farmers. Many,who cannot claim land

fOr cultivation, can rent a house site in the urban area. Such indi-

viduals usually operate the stores, transportation facilities, and

\ , 33

other services. Ejiditarios, themselves, are not confined to the

 

21.9.: If sufficiently enterprising, they may buy other land for
cultivation without losing their Ejidg_rights.

Owners of private lands must provide their own necessities such
as roads, electricity, and water. Usually, owners have small houses
on their property but do not live there permanently. Instead, they
reside in the nearest town and go daily to their land, remaining over-
night only during the busy seasons. The combination of Ejidg_villages
and land owners living in the nearest towns gives rise to strong
village development. Some villages have grown almost to the stature
of towns, especially where the ejidos are located in favorable agri-

cultural areas. On some ejidos the number of the non-ejiditarios is

 

larger than that of the ejiditarios. Usually the largest town in the

 

municipio serves as the cabecera or capital of the municipio, and
frequently in the past a municipio was formed around the largest
village.

Few giidg_villages have the characteristics of urban life. While
the government is rapidly improving services, such as potable water
supply and electricity, the streets are unpaved, medical facilities
are lacking, and except for food stores, the dwellers must either
patronize the weekly or semi-monthly markets for clothing, tools, and
other needs. Often, they must travel to the nearest large town for
such purchases. Chiapas has only three real cities: Tuxtla GutiéErez,
Tapachula, and San CristObal de las Casas. Tuxtla is the governmental
and financial center of the state, Tapachula is the agricultural market
center for the Soconusco, and San Cristdbal de las Casas is the Indian

market town.

34

The social and economic divisions of the state follow the physio-
graphic divisions, with one exception. The Sierra Madre de Chiapas
lacks cohesiveness. The peOple live in the valleys and lower lepes,
separated from one another by intervening mountains., They consequently
may have less contact with other valleys than they have with the coastal
plain or the Central Depression. According to the road and market
orientation, a given valley becomes a part of the Pacific coast or
Central Depression as an economic unit. The Sierra Madre de Chiapas

likewise does not exist as a separate pOpulation division.

Pacific Coastal Plain and South Slope of the Sierra Madre

 

The Pacific Coastal Plain has been a favored site for settlement
by farmers for many centuries. The greater fertility of the eastern
half, the Soconusco, supported dense settlement, but the western seg-
ment was well populated also. After agriculture was firmly established,
still in prehistoric times, the first known cultivators were the Mames,
forerunners of the present Mames of Guatemala. Although not indigenous,
one of their crOps, cacao, became extremely valuable. It was used as
money and as a beverage. Chiapas is near the northern limit of culti-
vation for the tree, but cacao of the area has a good flavor and yields
well. It was a lure to the Nahua Indians of the Mexican plateau who
invaded and conquered the area. The Nahuas did not attempt to colonize,
but they established garrison towns to ensure the annual payment of
tribute.

Unlike the Nahuas, the Spaniards came, conquered, and remained to
colonize the area. Spanish became the predominant language and Indian

culture disappeared. During the years of Spanish control little was

35

done to change the land with the exception of adding domesticated
animals, particularly cattle, to the scene. Although the Spaniards
replaced the Indians as owners of the land, cacao cultivation continued
as before. After chocolate was taken to the court of Spain and became
popular as a drink, cacao grew in importance and trade. All cacao
traffic from Central America was funneled through the Soconusco to
Veracruz for shipment to Spain. Several attempts were made to estab-
lish a monopoly of the trade at Tapachula, but none were successful.

The Pacific SlOpeS of the Sierra Madre were sparsely settled
throughout the colonial period and the early days of independence.

It was not until the deve10pment of coffee plantations in the nine-
teenth century that land on the higher lepes became valuable. During
these periods most of the coastal plains were scrub lands, used in a
few places for pasture. Settlement was concentrated on the piedmont,
where cacao was king. In the latter half of the nineteenth century
coffee cultivation began to spread along the lower sloPes of the Sierra
Madre. Large plantations, or fincas, were carved from the virgin
forests. Later these fincas were broken up by expropriation of the
land and diminished in size or were converted to ejidos. Many of the
original sites for the workers' homes remained after the fincas
disappeared and have grown to small-sized towns.

Most of the important towns of this zone are located at the junc-
tion of the piedmont and the coastal plain, at the point where a river
emerges from the mountains and crosses the plain (Figure 4). These
towns were settled in pre-Columbian times but, because of their
excellent sites, serve present needs equally well. In the past much

of the travel was by canoe along the rivers. The railroad, completed

36

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in 1907, followed the inner coastal plain along the edge of the piedmont
and connected the towns of the area like beads on a string. Increased
trade because of the railroad gave these towns the first impetus to
growth. Tapachula and Arriaga became the eastern and western terminals
in Chiapas. Today, although the coastal branch of the Inter-American
Highway has largely replaced the railroad, the towns continue to grow.
Arriaga, along with nearby Tonalafl has become the market center for
cattle of the western coastal area as well as a fish processing center.
A food industry is growing in the towns, based upon beds of large shrimp
recently found in the nearby coastal waters. Tapachula has grown more
rapidly and serves both as the main market for coffee of the Soconusco
and processing center for cotton of the area. Seven new cotton ginning
and storage plants have been built on the outskirts of the city.
Tapachula is becoming the leading city in Chiapas and, as manufacturing
increases, will be the leading industrial center. It is already the
fastest growing city in the state. Most of the new pOpulation has come

from surrounding municipios which have the least Opportunities for

 

agricultural growth.

A further stimulus to Tapachula is expected with the completion
of a deep water port less than twenty miles from the city. The new
port is designed to serve the agricultural export business, but it is
hoped that it will stimulate the deve10pment of light manufacturing

as well.

Central Depression and North Slope of the Sierra Madre

 

The Pacific Coastal Plain, Sierra Madre and Central Depression

have many social and economic similarities. They are the home of the

38

ladino, or modern Mexican, and are most deve10ped in commercial agri-
culture. With few exceptions, the crOps cultivated are the same. The
crest of the Sierra Madre acts as a boundary between the Pacific Coastal
Zone and the Central Depression. The high mountains are rugged and only
recently have they been crossed by one paved road, at the extreme
western end of the sierra through the lowest pass. Other passes are
only footpaths, and no attempt has been made to construct roads through
them. Communications on the north lepe of the mountains and the
Central Depression lead to the city of Tuxtla Gutié1rez, which serves
as the major collecting and marketing center.

In a few valleys small groups of Indians have partially maintained
their identity, although they have lost most of their cultural traits.
They are now passing into the ladino segment of the population. The

Chiapanecos of this region, for no discernible reason, convey the aura

 

of the old American West. They give the impression that they are the
men, more than those of the coastal plain, who are concerned with the
present and alert to the future development of the state. This attitude
is somewhat in evidence on the coastal plain but not as pronounced. On
the coastal plain, men seem to feel that the land is so good that
development will happen with very little effort on their part, while
the men of the central zone are aware that they can bring about such
deve10pment only by their own efforts. Such awareness may be the
result of connections with Tuxtla GutiOErez, the capital, where
government officials are very much alert to, and striving toward,
the economic development of the state.

Agriculture is the way of life in this zone, and minor food

processing is confined to the capital. Unlike those of the Pacific

39

zone, few farmers in the Central Depression are limited to one crop.
Instead, they specialize in mixed crop commercial farming. Also in
contrast with the Pacific zone, the better lands of the depression are
in the west and center. The eastern third is less desirable. Rainfall
is scanty and soils less fertile. Consequently, more land is devoted
to cattle than to crop cultivation, and the road system reflects this
change. Eastern roads are few and poor, while the Inter-American
Highway serving the west was the first paved highway in Chiapas.

The settlement pattern in the west is somewhat similar to that of
the Pacific Coastal Zone, the towns which are growing are located along
the Inter-American Highway. However, all of these towns are much older
than the highway. Generally they are located in high valleys that Open
on to one another, separated only by a low ridge of hills which are
easily crossed. 0n the other hand, in the center and east the pockets
of level land, especially the mountain llanos, are more isolated and
are separated by broader bands of hills. In the western sector lies
the city of Tuxtla Gutierrez, the capital. This city, while it has
many reminders of the colonial period, such as the plaza and homes of
the colonial era, is a rather bustling and modern city with emphasis
on business. Here are all the government and financial offices which
employ a large percentage of the city's pOpulation, all of the major
markets of the state, and a few small food-processing industries.

A major electrical project which is important to the entire
nation is under construction in the Central Depression. When com-
pleted, it will be one of the largest Of its kind in the world. Five
hydroelectric dams are to be built along the Grijalva River. The

first of the two large dams, in the Northern Mountains near Malpaso,

40

is already in service. The second, and largest of the five, is under
construction at Angostura in the municipio of La Concordia, in the
middle of the Central Depression and almost in the heart of the state.
Angostura is scheduled for completion in 1974 and when finished will,
in addition to providing electric power, safeguard some of the small
communities in the Central Depression from flooding such as they have
suffered in the past. When the Angostura dam is completed, the final
stage (three small holding dams) will be started. Two small dams will
be located between Malpaso and Angostura, and another will be just
downstream from Malpaso. When finished, the project will supply
electric power for central Mexico, and surplus power will be sold to
some of the Central American countries. Unfortunately, since hydro-
electric power is the main object of the project, only a few thousand
acres of land will be irrigated from the Angostura Lake. Most of the
valley in the municipio of La Concordia will be submerged, and the
town of La Concordia will be destroyed. Owners of land involved in
the project will either be moved to the four new villages which will
replace the capital of the municipio or have already sold their land
to the government and have relocated themselves. Those who have sold

their land for the project have become fairly wealthy men by Chiapanecan

 

standards because the government paid top money for it. Chiapanecos

 

welcome the project as it is expected that many of the construction
workers will eventually become permanent residents of the state. Yet,
they are a little disgusted because none of the electric power produced
in these projects is expected to benefit Chiapas. Chiapas, as is
common in Mexico, has electricity available, but the service is poor

and often fails in the dry season. Moreover, it is subject to brown

41

outs at other times of the year, 1.3: the power fluctuates and sudden
surges of power Often burn out or at least damage much of the electri-

cal equipment in the towns.

Central Plateau

 

Immediately east of the Grijalva River, as it makes a great bend
to the north, the steep face of an escarpment signals the beginning of
the Central Plateau. To climb the escarpment to the plateau is to
enter a different world, an Indian world. Nearly two-thirds of the
280,000 Indians in Chiapas live on the plateau. Here, partially shel-
tered from modern Chiapas, they have been able to maintain most of
their customs and beliefs. The rugged nature of the plateau separates
the living space into numerous small valleys and basins, each the home
of small groups of Indians. The isolation of one small group from
another has fostered individualism in dialect, dress, and other customs.

Despite superficial differences between the Indian groups, most
belong to two major tribes, the Tzeltals and the Tzotzils, which have
essentially the same basic way of life. They are an off-shoot of the
Mayan family and were in close contact with the Mayas of Yucatan and
Guatemala in past centuries. The pre-Columbian Tzeltals and Tzotzils
never constructed major stone ceremonial centers such as Tikal and
Chichéh Itzaj but they did have smaller, less pretentious centers
where they conducted religious ceremonies. These centers were unlived
in except for the few officials elected each year to religious office.
The majority of people lived in semi-permanent villages within easy
reach of the centers. Because they were shifting cultivators, their

village sites were moved when the cultivated fields were changed to

42

more distant areas. Today, this same pattern of vacant towns surrounded
by several hamlets remains, but it is undergoing modification. On the
plateau a single very small municipio enclosed each group, and the so-
called vacant town became the cabacera. All of the Indian lands were
"ejidoized," with the usual urban area requirements of an 21199: Par-
tially through the influence of agricultural agents working to improve
farming in nearby areas, the hamlets have become more or less fixed.
Sometimes, however, the Indians have moved and now live in previously
vacant towns.

A number of factors have combined to alter the major economic
activity in agriculture. Increasing pOpulation pressure has decreased
the amount of land available for shifting cultivation, and government
attempts to bring services to the villages have decreased the urge to
move. The money economy under which nearly all Mexicans live has
transformed the Indians into transitional subsistence farmers. They
must have cash for taxes and for the material needs they no longer
supply for themselves. While the traditional corn and bean fields
remain on the mountains and hillsides and are to some extent shifted
as needed, the fields close to the houses, previously known as kitchen
gardens, have become more important. Located in the floor of the
basins, these fields are now used to produce crops such as tomatoes,
onions, and fruit which are sold in the regional markets. In a few
areas where lands are available at moderate elevation, coffee is now
grown. Some Indian farmers who live close enough may own or rent lands
in the Central Depression, where sugar cane is their major money crop.
In sections near San Cristdbal de las Casas the agricultural agents

have been particularly active and have encouraged terracing of the

43

sides of the basins. That land is now permanently cultivated. Descent
from the plateau is in steps, and perched springs are common. Although
these have been used for centuries for primitive irrigation, the govern-
ment is now sponsoring a series of projects to develop and increase
their use for modern forms of irrigation.

Since 1524 when the town of San Cristdbal de las Casas was founded,
it has been the administrative center and major market for the Indians.
It is also a meeting place for the Indian and non-Indian. Whereas
Tuxtla Gutierrez is the governmental center and, with Tapachula, one
of the economic centers of the state, San CristObal de las Casas is
looked upon as the cultural center. While businesses are in the hands
of the non-Indian, the color provided by Indians who frequent the daily
markets is the major lure to the tourist. Hence, San CristObal de las
Casas is the tourist center of the state. Although the third city in
size, with 40,000 inhabitants, las Casas remains poorly deve10ped and
possesses a distinctively small-town atmosphere. Other than the
tourist business and a commercial sector composed mostly of small
shOps, it has only one small factory and a textile mill.

Only one other town, Comitah, at the eastern edge of the plateau,
is of any importance. Comitah acts as a collecting center for the
eastern end of the state, except the Soconusco. Coffee and cattle
are of principal concern. Comitah has a noticeable flavor of "business
comes first." Although it has never grown to the stature of a city,
Comitah has maintained a regional prominence ever since it was estab-
lished by the Spaniards.

The eastern end of the plateau is unlike the western, since the

Indian no longer dominates. Ladinos are more numerous here and occupy

44

the many ejidos, which are generally small and very poor. Privately
owned ranches are the most numerous. Karst landforms are prominent,
and the landscape favors cattle grazing over crOp cultivation.

One other source of wealth exists, scattered throughout the
plateau. The ridge sides which separate the numerous basins are too
steep and high for practical cultivation but are covered with dense
forests of conifers. An infant lumber industry produces nearly
$4,500,000 worth of pine lumber from these and similar forests in

the Northern Mountains each year.

Eastern Mountains

 

To the Chiapanecos all the mystique of a fabled land is attached

 

to La Selva Lacandona, or Eastern Mountains. Its mystique lies both

in the past and the future, but not in the present. As part of the
Mayan Empire the Eastern Mountains supported a population that had

the ability and resources to build at least eight stone cities. Unlike
the Mayan cities of the Yucatan Peninsula, these were located near the
many rivers of the province and did not have the water problems of
their peninsular sister cities.

The realization of the richness of its past is the base upon which
dreams of a flourishing future for this land are built, but that future
is distant. Today, the land is a wilderness devoid of people except for
a few scattered ranchers and about 200 Lacandones. The Lacandones are
the most primitive of all the Indians living in Chiapas. They have a
tremendous amount of land in which to support themselves by shifting
cultivation. As much as possible, they maintain old customs and

beliefs, but contact with modern cultures has decimated their numbers,

45

destroyed much of the old religion, and taught them to want some of

the material goods of modern life. As contact with outsiders increases,
the loss of cultural identity will become nearly total and the remain-
ing Lacandones will be absorbed into the ladino pOpulation.

One of the major barriers to deve10pment of the Eastern Mountains
is the almost total lack of ground communication. The area is without
roads, and all movement is confined to foot or horseback travel except
for occasional rudimentary airstrips near the archeological sites.

Roads are needed, if the area is to be developed.

Northern Mountains

 

The Northern Mountain Zone is less a cohesive unit than are the
other provinces. Here the Indian, ladino, and modern Mexican worlds
intertwine. In the southern sectors the Indians on ejidos preserve
their old life style, but northward and northeastward along the few
existing roads the Indian fades into the ladino world where the native
dress and most customs, except language, are lost. Away from the
major roads the Indian is less subject to contacts and is more likely
to remain Indian. However, the transitional state is most common.

Throughout the Northern Mountains ejidos exist side by side with

private properties. However, the more "ladinoized" the area the fewer

 

the ejido . In the Indian sections close to the central plateau there
are more ejidos, but toward the northwest ejidos are few and private
properties are more common. Also in this region, surrounding the
Netzahualcoyotl Dam, there is a considerable amount of government-
owned land which squatters are permitted to claim. Built during

construction of the Malpaso dam are access roads to the site which

46

pass through government land, and many squatters have been able to enter
the area. Today, much of this land has been claimed for coffee culti-
vation in small parcels of five to twenty-five acres.

Settlement patterns are the same as in the rest of Chiapas. Few

men, except the ejiditarios, live permanently on the land. Instead,

 

they usually have homes in nearby settlements. The richer they are,
the less time they spend on their land and the farther away are their
permanent homes.

The small towns and ejidos are located in the valleys, separated
from each other by mountain ridges. The road system is poor, because
the rugged terrain makes roads difficult to construct and exPensive to
maintain. Consequently, a few of the towns that are situated along
the roads have deve10ped into regional service centers. In most cases
these centers are little larger than other towns of the region, but
they are the first to receive electricity, water, telephones, and
schools, which attract peOple. More important to the region is the
function of the town as a buying and collecting center for agricultural
products. Economic activity in the area is based upon cattle, coffee,
and some cacao. Although all farmers here are interested in some form
of commercial agriculture, few, if any, are single cr0p specialists.
Most raise cattle plus one crop, which is usually coffee. The

gjiditarios are primarily subsistence farmers, except for one cash

 

crop. Coffee is most common, but at lower altitudes this changes to

cacao. Few of the ejiditarios raise cattle commercially. They do,

 

however, have a few small animals for their own meat supply.
The Northern Mountain area is far less deve10ped agriculturally

than either the Pacific Coast or the Central Depression and is also

47

less densely populated. There is more unused land than in any other
area, except for the Eastern Mountains. But, in general, agricultural
agents consider this region somewhat more difficult to manage, hence
less promising for crops and at present most suitable for cattle

grazing.

Gulf Coastal Plain

 

The two horns of northern Chiapas extend into the Gulf Coastal
Plain. These level lands are occupied mainly by small subsistence
farmers and cattle ranchers. Somewhat cut off from the rest of Chiapas
by lack of roads, this province is oriented toward neighboring Tabasco.
The ladino pOpulation lives in the capitals of the municipios, for there
are few other villages. Farmers of the western horn are cacao growers,
but low prices are turning them toward cattle. The agricultural agents
believe this area could be devoted to productive truck farms, but due
to the lack of roads little has been done to test this hypothesis.

. Recently, Oil has been discovered in the region, and two fields
have been brought into production. These deliver between 2,000 and
3,000 barrels of oil per day. Additional proven fields are to be
deve10ped soon. While oil extraction does not provide employment for
many people, it does bring money to the district and usually consider-
able improvement in roads, thus Opening the area to more prosperous
forms of agriculture.

The eastern horn of the province is a land of savannas and lakes.
Cattle ranching has been successful here, and the land use is unlikely

to change within the near future. Unlike the western horn, this sector

has no known minerals. However, it does include a tourist attraction,

48

the archeological site of Palenque. Now that the new road to Yucatan
passes within five miles of the site and the small town of the same

name, the area is readily accessible to the tourist. As the site was
once an important Mayan town, it could prove to be a popular attraction.
In addition, the large lakes of Catazaha Municipio offer possibilities

of recreational deve10pment in conjunction with Palenque.

CHAPTER III

COMMERCIAL CROP REGIONS

Although on a world-wide basis agriculture in Chiapas is classified
as tr0pical, the state is actually a mosaic of trOpical and mid-
latitude crops. The many valleys and plains at different elevations
compel the deve10pment of micro crOp regions. But few areas are truly
characterized by commercial crops, as the state has long been devoted
primarily to subsistence farming with the minority of commercial
farmers located in the most fertile areas. With the recent government
interest in agriculture, the subsistence farmers have entered a tran-
sitional stage between subsistence and cash cropping. Although the
crOps produced by true commercial methods are now limited in number
and quantity, they should increase as more farmers with government
assistance move further into commercial agriculture and away from
subsistence methods of cultivation.

Some crops grown in Chiapas are obviously destined for market,
whether produced by transitional subsistence farmers or full-time
commercial ones. The following are important now, although some are

produced in small volume:1

Cotton 274,210 tons Yucca 23,600 tons
Bananas 150,000 tons Cacao 11,000 tons
Coffee 76,000 tons Sesame Seed 2,026 tons
Sugar Cane 28,750 tons African Palm Oil 450 tons

 

1Data from Secretaria de Agricultura y Ganaderia.

49

50

Except for bananas, all need some form of transformation before use
and thus contribute to the beginning of an infant food-processing

industry in Chiapas.

Regions of the Four Commercial Crops under Study

 

Coffee, cacao, and bananas are common trOpical export crops, as
is cotton, although cotton is not limited to the tropics. These four
occupy some two-thirds of the cultivated land in Chiapas, but only one,
cotton, is grown by strictly commercial farmers. The other three are
cultivated by both commercial and subsistence farmers. For this
reason the usual criteria for defining commercial crop regions are
of little value, and these regions are constructed herein on the basis
of the crOps' presence in reasonable amounts. The regions are not
mutually exclusive, as cacao, cotton, and bananas can be grown in the
same general area and cultivation of any on a particular farm gener-

ally depends upon the preference of the individual farmer.

Coffee

Areas suitable for coffee cultivation are of limited extent in
Mexico. Nevertheless, the bulk of Mexican coffee is grown in ten
different states, among which Chiapas is the foremost. Forty percent
of the coffee eXports originate in Chiapas, while the state of Veracruz,
formerly the most important, produces only three-fourths as much or
29 percent.2

Coffee is cultivated in two large areas in Chiapas which are

separated by the lowlands of the Central Depression (Figure 5). The

 

{Instituto Mexicano del Cafe, Secretaria de Agricultura,
Estadisticas del Cafe: Number 12 (Mexico, D. F., May, 1970), p. 12.

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52

southern region is divided into two distinct regions by the crest of the
Sierra Madre de Chiapas. On the Pacific coastal SIOpes of the mountains
is the Soconusco, including the oldest and most intensively cultivated
coffee lands in Chiapas. It is a long, narrow region which extends
almost the entire length of the Sierra Madre de Chiapas from the Guate-
malan border, fading out in the west as the soil and rainfall require-
ments of coffee cultivation are no longer met. The second region, the
central, is located on the inner or north—facing slopes of the same
mountain range. This region is much less desirable. Rainfall is gener-
ally marginal for coffee, and therefore the area devoted to coffee is
much smaller, 42,000 acres, as compared with the 85,000 of the Soconusco.

With 161,000 acres under cultivation, the northern coffee region
is the largest and most dispersed. Land that meets the altitude,
rainfall, and soil requirements of good coffee occurs in scattered
parcels throughout the area. The lack of continguity magnifies the
labor and transportation problems of the region.

According to Moises de la Péfia, the first coffee trees were
brought to Chiapas from Guatemala in 1821, but the first true coffee
figg§_or plantation (El Chichara) was not started until 1849.3 Others
followed soon after. The preferred location for the early fincas was
on the sloPes of Tacana, a volcano on the southeastern border of
Chiapas. After the rich volcanic soils of Tacané'were claimed, coffee
cultivation spread westward along the south-facing SIOpes of the
Sierra Madre de Chiapas, ceasing near Huixtla, a little over twenty

miles from Tapachula. At that time all coffee was exported from

 

3Moises de la Pefia, Chiapas econ6mico (Mexico, D. F.: Imprenta
Mexicana, 1949), p. 825.

 

53

Chiapas by ships which loaded at a fishing site, now Puerto Madero.
Transportation to Puerto Madero from farther than Huixtla, even though
by horse and muleback, presented many difficulties and reduced profits
to the vanishing point. Therefore, coffee fincas west of Huixtla were
uncommon until completion of the railroad in 1907.4

The first fincas were literally carved out of virgin forests. The
prospective finquero made his way, usually on foot or horseback, into
the rainforests seeking out land centered upon a ravine which held a
year-around stream. Running water was a necessity as all of the early
fincas processed their own coffee and powered the crude machinery by
water. The first finqueros were Mexican. Foreigners hesitated to
settle in the Soconusco until the nationality of the territory was
established. In 1882 a treaty between Mexico and Guatemala fixed the
border along the Suchiate River. The uncertainty of tenure for
Soconuscan owners was ended, and this attracted foreign nationals to
the region. In the following decades, although Americans, English,
and Scots were numbered among the foreign entrepreneurs, the Germans
were most numerous. Within a few years they controlled the largest
and most prosperous coffee fincas of the Soconusco, and they retain
that position to the present day.

Until after the Revolution of 1910 no limits were put on the size
of the fincas. Many farmers owned 5,000 or more acres, but not all
the land was necessarily in coffee. Often as much as one-half the
acreage was left forested and held in reserve for the future. In the

Soconusco, coffee became a way of life. Each planter managed the entire

 

4J. Mario de Garcia de Soto, Geografia general de Chiapas (Mexico,
D. F.: Imprenta Mexicana, 1969), p. 94.

 

54

business. The coffee was grown and processed on the plantation. A
buyer had to be found and the coffee exported to him. Coffee cultiva-
tion became almost a cult, and few were granted admission. Coffee
brought great wealth and prestige to the growers, and many of them
became important businessmen in Mexico City.

In the search for more coffee lands, new plantations were started
on the north-facing sloPes of the Sierra Madre in 1908. These inland
slopes are now the central coffee region. Except in a few very favored
locations, this zone is less humid and more subject to harmful drying
winds. As a consequence, it is less desirable for coffee cultivation

and lacks the potential of the Soconusco. Early cafetaleros made their

 

land into true coffee fincas, but later arrivals did not. The latter
usually combined coffee with cattle. The coffee-cattle combination
prevails today. Because of its marginal nature, the zone is decreasing
in extent of coffee growing. Many farmers, particularly the smallest
producers,are converting entirely to cattle.

DevelOpment of the northern region began about the same time as
that of the central zone but proceeded very slowly. In the Soconusco,
plantations are old and it is rare to find men who started coffee cul-
tivation on new land. In the northern region, however, it is common
for the present owner, or his father, to have started coffee cultiva-
tion on the land he now owns. No true coffee figg§_exists in this
region. All coffee growers have some or most of their land devoted
to other uses. Most frequently they are cattlemen who cultivate from
one to 100 acres of coffee in addition to raising cattle. In the
entire northern region the largest plantation of coffee is 500 acres.

Five men have this amount, but most have fewer than 100 acres.

55

The transportation of coffee is a very difficult problem in the
north. The whole of Chiapas suffers from a poorly deve10ped secondary,
and even primary, road system, but the northern area most of all.
Perhaps to compensate for this, several subsidiary market centers have
developed. Major buyers, including the government, have regional
offices in each of these centers where they purchase the sun-dried or
partially processed coffee. Sometimes the coffee is finished there,
but just as often it is shipped to Tuxtla Gutierrez before the final
processing. Even with the regional centers to shorten the distance to
market, it is sometimes necessary for the producer to fly his coffee

to the center and for the buyer to fly it to his warehouse.

The cacao lands of Chiapas are divided into two distinct regions
through 1) location, 2) form of tenure for the majority of growers, and
3) techniques of cultivation. The two regions are located almost as far
apart as the state boundaries permit (Figure 6). Despite the distance
between them, they have a similar profile. In each, most of the cacao
is located on the gentle rolling hills of the piedmont with the level
coastal plain as a secondary site. The oldest region is the southeast,
or Soconusco. All of the piedmont and most of the coastal plain is
suitable for cacao, but other crOps compete for available growing space.
Therefore, in this region only 22,000 acres of cacao are grown and that
in scattered locations throughout the Soconusco. In the northwest the
77,000 acres of cacao are confined to a single large region.

In the Soconusco piedmont the majority of cacao growers are

ejiditarios. In pre-revolutionary days a number of large cacao

 

56

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57

plantations existed. In the reorganization of the land ownership which
fOllowed the revolution all but one of the plantation owners either
lost their land or ceased to grow cacao. The plantations were then
changed to ejidos. As the orchards were already in production, the

ejiditarios have continued to harvest them. Lacking needed credit for

 

improvements, the ejiditarios are unable to fertilize or protect their

 

crOps from disease or infestation. Consequently yields are low. With
exception of the single large plantation, only a few hundred acres of
piedmont cacao orchards are in the hands of private owners. These

owners follow the same cultivation techniques as the ejiditarios with

 

exactly the same results. On the other hand, the cacao grown on the
coastal plain is in the hands of private owners who do have the neces—
sary financial resources to improve their crOps. As the owners have
chosen cacao in preference to other crOps, these orchards are the most
carefully tended and productive in the region.

In contrast to the Soconusco, the northwest region has only four
or five ejidos involved in cacao cultivation. Most cacao producers
are ranchers who, in addition to owning cattle, also grow from ten to
fifty acres of cacao. Because cacao is well adapted to the physical
conditions of heavy rainfall through most of the year and difficult-
to-manage tenacious clay soils, no other crOp competes with cacao in
this area.

As cattle ranching is a profitable business in Chiapas, two
contrasting results have occurred: 1) Many ranchers have begun to
destroy their cacao trees in favor of more cattle, and 2) those who
wish to continue cultivating cacao have sufficient credit to enable

them to apply fertilizers and pesticides and thus improve the yield.

58

Therefore, these cacao growing ranchers are comparable with the private
growers of the Soconusco in their ownership of well-tended high—yield
cacao orchards.

Used for a beverage and as money, cacao was prized by the Indians
of Middle America long before the arrival of the Spaniards. Although
probably native to the Amazon or Orinoco Valleys, cacao was brought
under cultivation throughout northern South America, Central America,
and Mexico long before the Eur0pean conquest. From earliest times
cacao had two distinct varieties, forastero or cacao amargo (bitter)
and criollo or cacao dglgg (sweet). The latter was preferred by the
Indians of Middle America and was cultivated in an extensive region
along the piedmont facing the Pacific Ocean. As this cultivation
exPanded, it reached the Soconusco area of Chiapas no later than the
14th century. According to John F. Bergmann, cacao cultivation was
less deve10ped in Chiapas than further south in Guatemala. He believes
production was obtained from one or two trees planted in each kitchen
garden, and no true orchard existed in the area.5 While not contesting
the degree of deve10pment compared with more southerly areas, other
writers disagree with the manner of development. They have taken the
Spanish word huerta, or garden, in the conquerors' descriptions of
cultivation on the Mexican Plateau to have the same meaning in their
descriptions of Chiapas. In these writings huerta always refers to

the irrigated sections of agricultural land. The word then suggests

 

5John F. Bergmann, "The Distribution of Cacao Cultivation in
Pre-Columbian America," Annals of the Association of American
Geographers, Volume 59, Number 1 (March, 1969), p. 37.

 

 

59

that Chiapanecan cacao was irrigated and, if so, it is probable that

 

true orchards existed.6

During the pre-Columbian era the northern demands for cacao led
to attempts to control the trade. The Pacific coast of Chiapas was
invaded by the empires of the Mexican plateau, and garrison towns were
established to ensure the semi-annual tribute of 200 cargas of cacao
beans.7 One Egrgg_equaled about sixty pounds.8 Because the demand
for cacao was strong, cultivation was initiated on the Caribbean
littoral of Tabasco by the Aztecs.

Under the Spanish rule cacao was taken to the court in Madrid and
grew in pOpularity as a beverage. Cacao thus became a valuable com-

modity to the encomienderos. They did little to increase the area

 

under cultivation in the Soconusco, but certainly none of the cacao

lands were left unclaimed. Occasionally one or another of the Spaniards,
using Tapachula as a base, would try to control the cacao commerce, but
none succeeded for long.9 Throughout the colonial period cacao of the
Soconusco rated high in quality, but its actual importance in trade
declined and was overshadowed by the volume obtained from the Tabascan
lowlands. Toward the end of the 18th century less attention was given

to its cultivation in the Soconusco because of declining yields, but

 

6Pedro Armillas, "Land Use in Pre—Columbian America," History of
Land Use in Arid Regions, ed. Julian Steward, United Nations Social
Science Monographs II, p. 265.

7R. H. Barlow, "The Extent of the Empire of Culhua Mexico,"
Ibero-Americana, Volume 28, p. 98.

 

 

8Bergmann, "The Distribution of Cacao Cultivation in Pre-Columbian
America," p. 39.

9Moises de la Peha, Chiapas econOmico, p. 210.

 

60

there was some expansion in the northwestern region. Conditions
improved gradually in the Soconusco as the demand for cacao increased
following the Mexican Revolution of 1910. In the 1930's and 1940's
demand increased sharply. Due to unsettled world conditions, the
proximity of the Mexican cacao regions attracted American buyers to
the extent that in the Soconusco, particularly, it was not uncommon

to have the crOp purchased while still on the trees.10 Today a
government agency holds a monOpoly on the purchase of cacao, and the
prices are strictly regulated. In Chiapas these prices are low, $5.00
(pesos) per kilogram, or approximately U. S. 29 cents per pound. This
scarcely repays the cost of production and provides little incentive

to improve or increase the acreage of cacao.

Bananas

Like cacao, bananas are grown in many tropical lowlands. Having
much the same climatic requirements, the two crops are grown within
the same general areas in Chiapas (Figure 6, page 56). However, com-
mercial types of bananas do not tolerate much altitude and in Chiapas
are confined to well-drained alluvial soils of the coastal plain.
Actual commercial banana cultivation is limited to less than one
quarter of the suitable land.

The northwestern region is composed of a single municipio,
Pichucalco. Most of the fruit in this area is produced by very small
farmers and is sold to jobbers who transport the crop to the Mexico
City market. A lack of roads hinders deve10pment of the area. The

road between Coatzacoalcos in Veracruz State and Villahermosa in

 

10Interview with Moises Mugfierza, April 30, 1972.

61

Tabasco is the only all-weather route serving the area, but this means
of transportation is supplemented by use of gasoline launches on the
many rivers. Cultivation of bananas for export is limited to 2,400
acres, and no one Operates plantations of more than 700 acres. Sub-
sistence farmers who cultivate some of the banana acreage usually grow
several varieties and particularly the plantain, or cooking banana,
which is welcomed by the city dwellers.

In the second region, the Soconusco, banana cultivation is much
less viable. The long dry season is especially detrimental to yields.
This, combined with low prices, has caused many to either abandon the
crap altogether or cease careful cultivation and simply cut and sell
to jobbers whenever the Opportunity arises. The few serious cultivators
have put in the type of bananas which produce a quality acceptable on
the international market, although at present few manage to sell their
crops outside the national territory.

During the past eight years there has been a revival of export-
quality banana cultivation. The Soconusco now has a government-
constructed drainage and irrigation project, and the farmers therefore
have water available throughout the dry season. About fifty men have
re-established bananas on land that had been used for the cultivation
of other crops. Most of them use modern techniques and plant the best
varieties. Although the producers are too few in number to ensure the
huge tonnage required for foreign markets, they do receive the best
prices in Mexico City. As a result, they are cautiously optimistic
about their future in the banana business.

As an international commodity, bananas have a very short history.

Cultivation did not begin until the turn of this century in the West

62

Indies and Central America and was initiated even later in Mexico. By
the 1920's, when banana cultivation began in Mexico, the international
trade was controlled by huge companies such as United Fruit. But in
Mexico the land laws and government prevented these companies from
obtaining control over production. Selling COOperatives, government
sponsored as well as private, assisted the growers in obtaining good
prices for their crops.

The first banana plantations in Chiapas were established in the
northwestern sector of the state along the many rivers. Facilities for
rapid transport were necessary for this production and, since roads
were lacking, the rivers provided the best means of shipment. Banana
cultivation spread quickly to the Soconusco where transport facilities
were better. By 1937 the two areas exported 65,000 tons of bananas.
In the next year the Sigatoka disease attacked most of the banana lands
of Latin America. Northwest Chiapas suffered with the rest, but the
Soconusco was spared. There production was intensified, and by 1942
the Soconusco became the principal supplier to the United States.
Unfortunately, the Soconusco is not an optimum site for banana culti-
vation. It is subject to desiccating winds and a long dry season,
which reduce the yield and make irrigation mandatory. A greater prob-
lem are the occasional hurricane-strength winds, which at about five-
year intervals have destroyed the trees as well as the crop. But, the
most permanent disaster for the Soconusco was the Panama Disease.

Many plantations were abandoned and production nearly ceased. The
last half of the 1960's has seen a renewal of cultivation but, as yet,
on a much reduced scale. Of the fifty men involved in the revival of

bananas, few can be considered big producers. Most cultivate between

63

100 and 150 acres. The two largest producers have an assured foreign
market in the United States, while the remainder produce only for the
domestic market. The exporters predict a slow increase in acreage, but
no great change without a major upswing in world demand which they

consider is unlikely.

Cotton

The Central Depression and the coastal plain of the Soconusco are
the two regions of cotton cultivation in Chiapas (Figure 7). At present,
the Soconusco is the larger and more important area, but agricultural
agents consider the central zone to have greater potential. The
Soconusco area is compact and rather sharply defined, while cultivation
in the Central Depression is scattered. Most of the land suitable for
cotton in the coastal plain is already under cultivation, but only a
minor part of the good cotton land of the Central Depression is now
devoted to the crop.

As the government regulates strictly all cotton cultivation,
differences in farming techniques between the regions are minor.
Farmers in both regions by law must employ modern methods of cultiva-
tion, including the use of hybrid seed, machinery, insecticides, and
fertilizers. As a result, yields vary little from farm to farm and
region to region. After the harvest, cotton is ginned and sold to
government agencies.

Despite the similarities in techniques of cultivation, farms in
the two regions are different. In the Soconusco the land is designated
as class 1, hence the farmers are limited to 240 acres. They plant

only the one crOp. Every available acre, except for house sites and

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65

access roads, is in cotton. In the heart of the zone, cotton fields
blanket the land. Only on the periphery do they become scattered and
fewer farmers engage in the activity. In contrast, cotton is just one
of several crOps in the central zone. Not all of the land is class 1,
and individuals may own more than 240 acres. Farm size varies from

100 to 2,000 acres. Cattle occupy most of the land, with corn and
beans the important crops on arable land. Only in the past few years
has cotton been added. From five to 240 acres per farm are allotted to
cotton. At most this rarely exceeds one-half of the acreage on a farm

and is usually much less. Ejiditarios of the central zone follow the

 

same pattern as private farmers.

Climatic differences cause changes in the plants. In the central
zone fields are at higher altitudes, rainfall is just marginally ade-
quate, and humidity is lower. As a consequence, the cotton plant at
maturity is two to three feet in height with a moderate amount of
foliage. In contrast, on the coastal plain rainfall and humidity are
almost excessive, causing fantastic growth. The plants are seldom less
than six feet in height, with a growth of foliage that almost hides the
cotton bolls.

Farmers in both areas express general satisfaction with cotton
cultivation, but those of the central zone are more aware of the poten-
tial hazards and realize the situation may not always be so satisfactory.

The ejiditarios of the central zone are somewhat distrustful of the

 

crop, fearing the insect pests of cotton will infest their other crops.

Nevertheless, in both zones ejiditarios and private owners eXpect to

 

cultivate cotton for many years to come.

66

Commercial cotton cultivation has developed only recently in
Chiapas, but wild cotton has grown there since prehistoric times in
both the central and Pacific coastal zones. The year in which domes-
ticated cotton was introduced is uncertain, but records indicate that
in 1880 Chiapas produced 162 tons.11 By 1908 a small seed extracting
mill was Operating in Tapachula, and another functioned at San Bartolome
in the central region. Sufficient cotton was grown and ginned to keep
these gins in Operation and to supply raw material for a small cloth
factory at La Providencia in the central zone. Doubtless much of the
cotton used in home looms was obtained from wild plants, but enough
was cultivated to indicate its future promise as an important crOp.

True commercial cultivation in Chiapas began in the 1960's after
successful development of the cotton regions in northern Mexico. The
government promoted the deve10pment through various agencies and now
controls every step in the cultivation and processing of cotton. The
project was started first on the coastal plain near Tapachula. No
cotton can be planted without a government permit. To obtain the per-
mit, farmers must agree to follow directions of the agricultural agents
and use modern techniques, which include machinery, hybrid seeds, ferti—
lizers, and insecticides. In return, the government provides the
necessary credit and agrees to purchase the entire crop. Through the
credit agencies seven ginning mills were built on the outskirts of
Tapachula to purchase and process the cotton. In the first ten years
the cultivated area expanded to 60,000 acres, despite the usual

logistic problems which appear in such projects.

 

llMoises de la Pena, Chiapas economico, p. 855.

 

67

In the late 1960's cultivation was expanded to include the central
zone. As a result of earlier mistakes, expansion here has proceeded
more slowly. Not every farmer or ejiditario can obtain a permit.
Instead, the agricultural agents are selective, and the permits are
granted only to those whose land appears particularly well suited to
the crOp. Nevertheless, slightly over 43,000 acres were under cotton
by 1972. A single gin, on the outskirts of Tuxtla Gutierrez, serves
the entire central region. It receives more raw cotton than it can
handle during the harvest season, and as the area expands further,

other gins will be needed.

Other CrOps and Livestock

 

Other crOps could be commercially exploited in Chiapas. Most of
these have been grown by subsistence farmers for many years and are
still generally cultivated by primitive methods. Commercial farmers,
in some instances, have cultivated the same crOps but using modern
techniques. Sometimes they also employ hand methods, but raise the
crap with the intention of selling it. In any case, sufficient quan-
tities are grown to furnish raw materials for infant industries in

Chiapas.

Corn

 

Corn is grown everywhere in Mexico and is a basic staple in the
Mexican diet. In recent years, with the help of imported seed, corn
yields have increased substantially and Mexico now exports corn.
Modern growers add to the surplus by reducing the former substantial

loss from rodents and deterioration.

68

As in Mexico generally, nearly every farmer of Chiapas raises
corn for domestic use. In addition, farmers of the Central Depression
produce it for commercial purposes. The area surrounding the municipio

of Villa Flores is sometimes affectionately called by the Chiapanecos

 

the corn granary of Mexico (Figure 8). They mention with pride a con-
tract they recently negotiated to eXport corn to the Soviet Union. The
region is small, but could be expanded. However, these same farmers
also grow cotton. In view of the increased corn production throughout
Mexico and the alternate choice of land use for the area, it is unlikely

the farmers will increase their acreage of corn.

Rice

 

Rice is cultivated in many areas of Chiapas in plots of only a
few acres in size. The amount raised is merely sufficient for the
needs of the state and is an important cash crop for many farmers.
One area near the municipio of La Concordia is particularly noted for
its production (Figure 8). Rice cultivated in Chiapas is dry or upland
rice and, consequently, does not yield the tonnage common to wet or
paddy rice. Nevertheless, production in the central zone is sufficient
to supply a small rice polishing mill in Tuxtla Gutierrez. Rice culti-
vation remains in the hands of the transitional farmers who still use
hand tools. Although there has been no particular indication that the
cultivation will expand in the near future, a demand for the crop does
exist. Should improvements such as the application of fertilizers be
made and the yields increase, the crop would become more popular and

expansion occur.

69

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70

African Palm Oil

 

In the past thirty years a new cr0p, African palm oil, has proved
successful. As yet, it is confined to a single plantation on the
Pacific coastal plain. The somewhat rigid requirements for successful
growth of the palm are satisfied in this very small area of the coast.
At present only 700 acres are under cultivation, but agricultural agents
have estimated that an additional 24,000 acres are suitable. The oil
is extracted on the plantation, and its purchase is a monopoly of the

government.

X1221

In the municipio of Metapa in the Soconusco region yucca has
become the major crop. It is an annual plant which when harvested is
sent to a small factory in the same municipio where the yucca is proc-
essed into a white glue. The farmers of the area grow the plant to
the exclusion of any other crOp. For this reason no cotton is culti-
vated in the municipio, although it lies within the cotton zone of

the Soconusco.

Cattle

Cattle ranching is probably the most favored agricultural pursuit
in Chiapas. Great personal prestige accrues to the rancher, and the
government regards the occupation highly. It is one of the few agri-
cultural activities for which credit, both governmental and private,
is plentiful and easily obtained. Consequently, ranching is found in
every part of Chiapas. If any area can be said to specialize in
cattle, the northeastern and the southwestern section of Chiapas are

these regions. Although in some instances the techniques of ranching

71

are not the best, the cattle frequently are. Ranchers are following
the pOpular practice of crossing Brahman bulls with the old breeds
brought by the Spaniards. Ranching is almost entirely limited to the

small farmer and is rare among ejiditarios.

 

CHAPTER IV

PRODUCTION TECHNIQUES: COFFEE AND CACAO

Coffee and cacao are the oldest commercial crOps in Chiapas and
in the past growers learned the necessary techniques for their culti-
vation without help or interference. Many of these techniques were
adapted to prevailing conditions when the crOps were introduced to
the area. Their continuance without modification is taken for granted
by the growers as long as the crops remain profitable. But as condi-
tions are never static and moreover as the government is anxious to
add new commercial crOps to those now produced, these techniques
should be reviewed. Some have become outmoded and should be altered;
many remain satisfactory and could be transferred as a nucleus of
skills applied to new commercial crOps. Among the techniques to be
considered are: management of land and labor, chemical inputs, the

use of machinery, transportation facilities, and marketing procedures.

Coffee
Coffee is the second most valuable crop in Chiapas, after cotton,

and hundreds of Chiapanecos are engaged in its production. They vary

 

from the big producer with 700 acres to the small farmer with one or
two. All must apply the same general methods or production techniques.
However, because of location, size of resource base or personal beliefs,

the manner of application can vary.

72

73

Land and Labor

 

In Chiapas good quality coffee is grown at altitudes of between
2,500 and 5,000 feet. Above this height the coffee is considered too
acid, and at lower elevations, both the size and flavor of the bean
deteriorates. Coffee trees are well adapted to a wet and dry monsoonal
climate. Although the trees maintain their foliage, the dry season
provides a resting period. Fruiting starts with the rains; within two
weeks of the onset blossoms appear on the trees. As most of the expense
of coffee cultivation occurs during the harvest, a single rainy season
is best. Two rainy seasons means two harvests. Coffee is not exacting
in terms of soil requirements. The best is deep, well drained, fertile
loam, preferably, but not necessarily, volcanic. This explains the
heavy concentration of coffee fincas in the Soconusco region. Located
at the northern terminus of the Pacific coast volcanic region of Central
America, the Soconusco soils benefit, through deposits of ash, from
volcanic activity.

In other countries, coffee plantations may cover a thousand or
more acres, but in Mexico land laws forbid private holdings in excess
of 750 acres. Coffee plantations form four classes by size: 1) ejidos
with unlimited area, often more than 1,000 acres; 2) large fincas of
500 to 700 acres; 3) medium-sized fincas of fifty to 240 acres; and
4) small holdings of forty-nine acres or less. These categories arise
from land tenure laws and related social conditions. Although the size
of ejidos has no legal limit, some restriction has been imposed by the
amount of land available at the time each was established. Today's
large fincas were formerly immense, but exprOpriation has reduced them

to their present size. In some cases the reduction is more apparent

74

than real as several neighboring fincas are often Operated under the
same management. Between the large and medium size holdings a hiatus
of from 250 to 500 acres exists. It is possible that some holdings do
correspond to this range, but none of the planters interviewed claim
an acreage of this category. Nor do government records indicate any
for Chiapas. In the medium-size category two types of plantations
exist: 1) properties with all land in coffee, and 2) prOperties with
more than half of the land reserved for other purposes. Fincas of
500 or fewer acres were purchased after the land reforms were insti-
tuted and are fractions or parts of former large fincas whose owners
ceased cultivation. Holdings with fewer than fifty acres are usually
small prOperties purchased by laborers from their employers, or govern-
ment lands deve10ped by squatters. It is a common practice for owners
of large fincas to sell in small lots any land in excess of 700 acres.
By surrounding themselves with many small growers, they prevent nearby
ejidos from taking over more of their land.

To the exporter the type of coffee is as important as his land.
Of four principal species, two are pOpular in Chiapas, Arabica and
Canefora. The many varieties of Arabian coffees are preferred for
flavor and are grown in Chiapas, but yields are moderate compared with
that of Robusta, the major variety of Canefora. The latter specie was
not discovered until the end of the last century. It has a greater
content of caffeine and therefore, adds body when blended with Arabica.
However, it is lacking in flavor and, by itself, is used only for
soluble coffee.

The export planters grow varieties of Arabica coffee, usually

Tipica, Bourbon, and Mondonova. Increasingly they are adding Caturra,

7S

and in the north a new variety called Criollo. Only when questioned
will a few farmers admit to growing Robusta, the common variety of
Canefora. They rarely mention Robusta when describing their coffees
as it carries no prestige. Only one planter specializes in Robusta
and intends to replace most of his Arabica with it.

Usually coffee is grown in the shade of very tall tropical trees,
such as the primavera and cedar. But in areas of new plantings, where
shade is deficient or absent, the seedlings are shaded by fast-growing
bananas that are planted beside each young tree for that purpose.
Shading occurs because of the belief that the coffee tree does not
live and bear well in strong trOpical sunlight, and shading is also
used to control the height of the trees for easier harvesting. In
Chiapas coffee trees are planted an average of nine to twelve feet
apart, but actual spacing is fitted to the terrain. Steep slopes
permit planting as close as two feet. Although a coffee tree lives
for more than fifty years, replacement is recommended after thirty
years when yields begin decreasing. All of the farmers interviewed
do remove trees as they die or become severely diseased, but none
routinely replace old or low yield trees. Usually large owners Operate
their own nurseries, but small farmers obtain new stock from the coffee
institute. Five seedlings are supplied without cost, but a small fee
is required for more than five. The coffee institute, working with
the agronomists of the agricultural experiment station, has developed
improved varieties, notably Criollo which are adapted to altitudes
around 5,000 feet. Criollo has proved particularly satisfactory for

the ejidos of the northern region.

76

In the annual work cycle labor requirements fluctuate with the
season and the owner's perception of his needs. The routine work con-
sists of replanting, clearing undergrowth around young trees, watching
for disease, fertilizing, tree trimming, and general maintenance. A
permanent labor force lives on the plantation for this work. The
Soconusco coffee farms and the large fincas of the central zone main-
tain approximately the same number of workers, usually one worker for
five to fifteen acres (Table I). In the northern region and on smaller
fincas Of the central zone there are no permanent laborers for the
coffee. Local ranch hands or outside labor may be hired for specific
jobs. At the conclusion of the tasks they are released or, in the
case of the ranch hands, returned to their usual work. No permanent
workers are hired on the ejidos. The ejiditario and his family
perform all routine tasks.

The trend is toward fewer permanent employees even in the
Soconusco, because welfare laws impose increasingly stringent standards.
Some of these the fingueros have difficulty meeting.1 The finguero
must provide permanent housing, social security benefits, and health
care. With thirty or more employees he must provide a school and a
teacher. Teachers are difficult to find as most prefer to live in
towns and receive the benefits attached to government jobs.

Labor requirements increase sharply during the harvest, which is
done by hand. As green fruit must be left on the trees to ripen and
only ripe berries are picked, the same trees must be picked over two

to three times. Each laborer is assigned to all trees within a

 

1In Chiapas a finguero is an owner of a large plantation, usually
500 acres or more. Although the name is usually reserved for coffee
growers, it may refer to any important farmer.

77

 

 

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78

specified area called a cuerdo. The cuerdo has no absolute size, but
must include sufficient trees to allow one man to pick one quintal or
130 pounds of coffee berries each day. The cuerdo is adjusted to the
terrain, the number of trees, the state of ripeness of the fruit, and
the type of tree. Robusta trees are easier to pick and have more fruit
than Arabica. An employee is not restricted to a single cuerdo. If

he is a fast and thorough worker or if he has extra hands in the person
of his wife or children, he will be assigned to as large an area as he
can handle.

The numbers of temporary laborers hired follows the same general
pattern as that of the permanent work force. Soconusco growers employ
the greatest number, fingueros of the central zone the next largest,
and northern growers the smallest. In the Soconusco owners prefer to
have 150 to 300 additional men, or one man for every two to five acres.
However, the owners of German descent do not find these numbers ade-
quate, and instead employ 1,000 extra workers for picking. They also
hire some of the women and children who accompany the laborers to hand
grade the coffee beans after the drying machines have initially graded
them. Non-German fingueros consider machine grading sufficient and
have ceased hand grading.

In general, coffee harvests coincide with the period of least work
on subsistence farms. Consequently, a readily available source of
labor exists nearby. Over the years a routine has been established.
Because Soconusco growers hire the largest numbers of seasonal laborers,
the majority of laborers head for that district. Part of the temporary
workers are acquired haphazardly. Men simply appear and request work.

Most of these are illegal migrants from Guatemala. But the bulk of

79

the workers are hired from a contractor who also acts as a form of
union leader, bargaining for improvements before he guarantees to supply
specific numbers of laborers. The workers return to the same general
area, sometimes the same £1233, year after year and generation after
generation. The eastern sector of the Soconusco draws on legal migrants
from Guatemala and Indians of the Central Plateau for its workers
(Figure 9). Central Soconusco obtains men from the Central Plateau

and Comitén area. Comitan farmers and a few Indian groups from the
Central Plateau go to the central coffee zone, where they are supple-
mented by local farmers. The northern coffee zone must depend upon
local labor, plus a few workers from the Central Plateau. The limited
number of temporary laborers who head toward the northern regions par-
tially explains why the northern growers habitually use far fewer
employees than those of the Soconusco. Having grown accustomed to

the same picking localities and home areas, both the laborers and the

fingueros speak disparagingly of other workers and other work areas.

Other Inputs

 

Among the hazards of farming, especially in the trOpics, are loss
of soil fertility and damage to crOps from diseases and pests. Modern
farmers combat both by use of various chemicals. Beyond the ability
of the farmer to produce for himself, these are purchased off the farm
and account for much of the costs of commercial agriculture. Use varies
according to local conditions and farmers' ability to pay. Among
inputs characteristic of modern commercial cultivation is substitution
of machinery for labor. In some forms of trOpical cultivation,

machinery is of little importance; but in others, notably cotton,

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81

it has assisted a complete modernization of production. Usually
considered as part of labor requirements, but with special importance

in Latin American agriculture, is the time and effort expended by the
owner. Most owners of large prOperties spend a minimum of time over-
seeing the operation. Sometimes this is compensated for by the presence
of a full-time manager, but absentee landlordism is usually a factor

in problems of low productivity and inefficient management.

Fertilizers, Insecticides, and Other Chemical Aids

Coffee cultivation in Chiapas is characterized by minimum appli-
cations of any form of chemical preparations to aid production. The
primary use of chemicals is to maintain soil fertility. Heavy leach-
ing of natural soil chemicals increases the need for replacement, but
among the coffee growers interviewed only four have applied commercial
fertilizers. All agree upon the necessity but have failed to do so.

A routine practice is to use the pulp from the coffee fruit as ferti-
lizer after the beans have been removed. One owner regularly applies
commercial fertilizers. Three have applied guano and one has used
urea, but at irregular intervals and generally in minimum amounts.

Of the four who have made irregular use of Off-farm fertilizers, one
is an ejidg_manager and all are among the largest coffee growers in
Chiapas.

A second need for chemicals is as herbicides. Undergrowth around
young trees must be kept to a minimum. The same farmer who regularly
uses chemical fertilizers also has made use of herbicides, but no
others have. Most substitute hand labor. After five years the coffee

trees themselves shade the ground sufficiently to reduce unwanted

82

undergrowth to a tolerable level, so the owners consider it more
efficient to clear the growth by machete and prefer not to incur the
additional expense of herbicides.2 Most have simply never considered
their use.

Chemicals are also used to control disease and pests. As in
every tropical region, a large number of diseases and pests exist
which affect the trees and for which individual chemical remedies are
available. Again, all farmers agree upon the necessity of their use,
and at the same time more than half of those interviewed said that
they had never used them. They did not because they are too eXpensive.
The remaining interviewees who have used insecticides do so sporadically.
Three to eight years separates each application. Generally these pre-
ventatives have been for insect plagues, whereas only one farmer
specifically mentioned fungacides. The common treatment for diseases
which have no obvious vector is to remove the affected trees and

replant.

Machinery

One of the most characteristic features of coffee cultivation in
Chiapas is the use of men rather than machines. This situation is
not entirely by choice of the growers. Coffee is often grown on
slopes too steep for effective use of machines either to clear land
or to cut undergrowth. The fertilizer most Often used is pulp from
the coffee cherry and is easily spread by hand. The greatest need for
labor is in harvesting, and no machine has been invented to satisfac—

torily pick cherries as they ripen. Although none of the Operations

 

2A machete is a large, wide-bladed knife used for every conceiv-

able task.

83

can be entirely mechanized, the amount of labor needed can be reduced
for a few. A portable flame thrower is satisfactory to clear and reduce
the undergrowth around young trees, and portable, back-packed sprayers
can spread chemical herbicides, fertilizers, and insecticides. These
are used routinely by one grower among those interviewed, and the
sprayers occasionally have been employed by others in the rare appli-
cation Of chemical insecticides. Most often, however, insecticides

are applied by hand. The most important use of machinery is in prep-
aration of the coffee beans for market. Coffee processing is divided
into two steps, wet and dry. Wet or humid processing begins with
immediate washing of each day's harvest of coffee cherries. The fruit
is then removed by grinding or pulping. To remove the remnants of pulp
the beans are again washed and are placed in a fermenting tank for
twenty-four hours. Following fermentation, the beans are spread out

in thin layers on a drying floor or patio which is exposed to sunlight.
Time needed for sun-drying varies with the moisture content Of the
coffee bean itself, the humidity Of the air, and the directness of the
sunlight; but it averages from twenty-four to thirty-six hours. Sun-
drying removes some of the moisture from the bean, and all remaining

fragments of the fruit clinging to the bean then dry and fall away.

 

When this stage is complete, the beans are known as caféipergamino.3

The processing to the stage of café’pergamino is called the wet or

 

humid beneficio, and all coffee growers, except an occasional one who
sells his coffee in the cherry, process their coffee this far. The

difference between the large and the small growers is that the small

 

3Cafefpergamino is partially-dried coffee beans which still
retain the outer skin or husk.

 

84

growers hand wash and depulp the coffee beans, while the others use
power machinery.

Small growers usually sell their beans as café’pergamino while

 

the fingueros go beyond this to the final stage and sell their crOps

as café’de oro.4 To reach the final step, after sun drying on the

 

patios, the coffee beans are placed in a drying machine. The dryer,

a huge drum, revolves and tosses the beans as they dry. Although the
mechanical dryer speeds the drying process and can be substituted
entirely for the patio drying, the large growers of Chiapas habitually
use a combination of the two forms. They believe that sun drying adds
to the flavor of the finished coffee. Finally, the dried beans are
placed in a blower which, by forcing air through long passages,
removes the last of the thin skins around the beans and by lifting
them to different heights sorts them by weight. The chaff blows off
at the top, the lightest beans are lifted to the highest outlet, middle
weights to the next highest and the heaviest beans only to the lowest

outlet. The beans, then as café'de oro, can be sacked ready for market.

 

However, some growers, using female and child labor, go over each sack
and remove broken or poor quality beans before marketing.

The depulpers, dryers, and blowers are the major machines of the
£1233, They are large and expensive, but usually last twenty to
thirty years or more. All are powered by electricity, which the
grower must produce for himself. Therefore, the final and most criti-
cal machine is the diesel-powered generator. If possible, the finguero

will own two. Each is capable of producing sufficient power to run all

 

4Cafe’de oro needs only toasting and grinding before it can be

used to make coffee.

 

85

machines. Their use is alternated, but the real purpose of having two

is to have another available should one machine break down.

Marketing and Transportation

 

Coffee was an early success in Chiapas, because it did not deteri-
orate rapidly, could be transported over difficult terrain and was
sufficiently valuable to withstand high transportation costs. Initially
coffee growers located their own buyers outside of Mexico and trans-
ported their coffee to those buyers. Time and political events have
altered the picture. The reduction in size of the great fincas and
the entrance of the small farmer into coffee production have necessi-
tated the deve10pment of an intermediate broker, the coffee company
which buys from the grower and sells to the overseas market.

Transportation remains a problem. The state now has two all
weather east-west routes connecting the capital and the Soconusco
with Mexico City and Guatemala. The two primary roads serve the com-
mercially deve10ped areas of the state, but the secondary road systems
remain rudimentary. Many outlying areas lack both primary and second-
ary roads. Although the government is placing great emphasis upon
road construction, it will be many years before the transportation

system can be considered adequate.

Markets

Almost the entire coffee production of Chiapas is exported to
either the United States or Germany. Of the growers interviewed, only
those who handle their own exporting are aware of the precise desti-
nation of their coffee. Germany purchases premium coffee, and those

growers who sell to Germany gain prestige from this fact. As most of

86

the coffee exporting companies Operate in more than one state, local
managers are uncertain but calculate that 90 percent is sold to the
United States.5

Since land tenure laws reduced the size of the fincas and the
small farmer has entered the picture, the manner of marketing has
changed. Some fifty companies buy from the farmer. At least half of
these companies are very small and are comprised of coffee growers
who prefer to export their own coffee. Ten or twelve companies buy
second class coffee, i;Er broken or very small-size beans not accept-
able for export. These they sell on the local market, or they buy
lowland Robusta for the powdered coffee market. The remaining companies
are firms which buy for export, but are not involved in coffee culti-
vation. Many Operate in more than one coffee growing area of Mexico.

The finguero who forms a coffee export company is primarily con-
cerned with his own production. However, he may also buy from nearby
small growers. In times of poor harvests he buys from any available
source to meet his assigned quota. Often, but not always, other mem-

bers Of the finquero's family own additional coffee land, and in

 

effect the company sells coffee grown on two to four fincas.

Coffee planters who have 700 or fewer acres of coffee seldom
consider it worthwhile to find overseas buyers and prefer to sell to
the coffee companies. They sell their beans either in pergamino
stage, or if they have drying machinery on their property, as Eafé'
de oro. Only one farmer of those interviewed has found it profitable

to sell in the cherry stage. He does this successfully because he is

 

5Interview with two coffee company managers, December, 1972.

87

located within twelve miles of Tapachula and the road to his plantation
is paved more than half of the way. Because of this and because his
Robusta trees bring a large harvest, the company is willing to collect
at the end of each day's picking.

Most of the small growers sell their coffee to Bemex (Beneficio
Mexicano), the government agency. Although during harvest Bemex Opens
many temporary offices in various coffee growing municipios, the wait-
ing lines of small growers are very long. These growers often have to
wait a day or more before they can sell their coffee. Such delays
generally make larger growers avoid Bemex, and they turn to private
commercial companies. Because of the volume of coffee Bemex buys,
it sets the price for all commercial buyers. Other buyers cannot put
their prices much lower than the government prices, or even the large
growers become willing to sell to the government.

In the north the small farmer whose harvest amounts to less than
a few hundred pounds, and whose difficulty in reaching market would
destroy his profits, resorts to another buyer -- the coyote. The
latter is given this name because he is considered a scavenger. He
takes advantage of farmers who cannot readily move their harvests to
market by paying minimum prices. The coyote buyer is common in the
north, less so in the central coffee zone, and almost unknown in the

Soconusco. He thrives only in isolated areas.

Market Centers
Headquarters for the coffee companies are in Tapachula and Tuxtla
Gutierrez. Tapachula serves the Soconusco sufficiently well that only

one or two extra collection and storage centers are needed in other

88

municipio capitals. Bemex is the exception, having a number of
temporary branches which shift from week to week as harvests are
completed. Tuxtla Gutierrez serves the northern and central regions,
but the city is not as conveniently located for the north as Tapachula
is for the Soconusco. Nor is the road network as well deve10ped as

in the Soconusco. Therefore the major coffee buyers have established
a number Of regional centers. These are permanent, although active
only during harvest season. In addition to buying coffee, these
centers have facilities for processing. As few of the northern
planters have machinery to completely process their coffee, they

sell it at the café'pergamino stage. The buyers must be able to

 

complete the process.

The centers are located in capitals of several municipios.

 

Although these are usually very small towns, their coffee buying
function has given them a rather businesslike character unknown in

other municipios. Tuxtla Gutierrez is the main coffee center, but

 

most of the coffee is exported directly from the regional centers.
On the other hand, regional centers in the central zone ship the
coffee to Tuxtla, as it is conveniently located to do the exporting

for that zone.

Transportation from Farm to Market

Growers must take their coffee to market. The preferred method
is by truck. As many farmers as can do so own their own trucks, for
the trucks also substitute as family cars. Often ejidos collectively
own one or more. Small farmers and the poorer ejidos can usually rent

them from neighbors. Freighting by truck depends on the condition of

89

the roads. Because the Soconusco is the oldest and most concentrated
of the coffee regions, the road network is the most nearly adequate.
All of the coffee lands lie within a short distance of the paved
coastal highway, but movement by secondary roads is often difficult.
The first fingueros had to construct their own roads from the mountains
to the coastal plain. These roads were made to serve pack animals,

and they crossed streams and followed cliffsides. They were vulner-
able to erosion by water and destruction by rock falls. The roads

grew wider as more finqueros came to the region and joined together

to improve accessibility. The early roads now form most of the second-
ary road system and, although the state now grades them periodically,
they remain rudimentary.

The secondary road system of the central zone is completely
inadequate. Coffee lands are more scattered and distances are longer.
The Sierra Madre is extremely rugged, and only a few footpaths cross
the mountains. Therefore, movement toward market is northward to the
Central Depression and the capital, Tuxtla Gutierrez. The central
branch of the Inter-American Highway passes close to the eastern
sector, and growers in the east are more fortunate than those else-
where in the central region. Fingueros of the central and western
areas who could afford to construct their own roads and transport
their coffee by truck, often take twenty-four to thirty-six hours to
reach the Inter-American Highway, 3 distance of thirty to fifty miles.
The small growers continue to bring their coffee to market by horse or
mule-back and sometimes, in the case of the smallest growers, by donkey.

In the north conditions are similar to those of the central zone.

Only the largest growers and those located near the few access roads

90

can make use of trucks. Most of the small producers, including the

individual ejiditarios, use pack animals. For those living in the

 

eastern part of this zone, transport to market can mean a journey of

a week or more. Distances are a little longer and secondary roads are
few. Many communities, ejidos, and private plantations have small
primitive air strips where small one- and two-engine planes can land.
Coffee is collected from local growers and flown to the nearest regional
center. Air freighting is most common in the central and eastern

sections of the northern zone.

Transportation from Market to Final Destination

At the beginning of coffee cultivation in Chiapas, all crOps were
shipped overseas and even to Mexico City via the shallow water port of
San Benito (Puerto Madero). Cargo had to be lightered to ships waiting
in deep water. In 1907 railroad transport replaced shipment via the
inadequate port, and all coffee was subsequently sent by train across
the Isthmus of Tehuantepec to Veracruz on the Gulf of Mexico. Today,
the Inter-American Highway has largely replaced the railroad for coffee
shipment. A few of the planters who export their own coffee continue
to use the railroad, but generally not on a regular basis. All coffee
brokers, including the government owned and Operated Beneficio Mexicano
ship cargo by large trucks. The saving of time, twenty-four hours as
Opposed to five to seven days or more, has motivated the conversion to
trucks.

The port of embarkation has shifted from Veracruz to Coatzacoalcos,
which is also in the State of Veracruz. Exporters usually do not select

their point of shipment. This change, shortening the transport distance,

91

was instituted by the Mexican government. In conjunction with the
planned deve10pment of a series of deep water ports, the government
'began to assign the use of specific ports to particular states.

Chiapanecos now use Coatzacoalcos for most of their coffee, whereas

 

Salina Cruz in Oaxaca is the departure point of coffee destined for

Japan. However, only minimal amounts of Chiapanecan coffee is sold

 

to Japan. Coffee always moves by ship when exported from Mexico.
Although the United States imports more than 80 percent of all Mexican

coffee, less than 1 percent travels overland by truck.6

Cacao

Despite a short revival of Chiapanecan cacao during and immediately

 

after World War II, it has been of decreasing importance in the state
since colonial times. Much of the responsibility for this situation
lies with the cacao growers themselves. Mexican cacao is not popular
on the international market, and until processing on the farm is

improved cacao from Mexico will not be sold abroad.

Land and Labor

 

Cacao and coffee are both tree crOps and have some similarity in
physical requirements. Annual temperatures must be high and rainfall
heavy for both, but conditions for cacao culture are more stringent.
Cacao requires an annual temperature of 75°F and at least 1,250 milli-
meters of rainfall. A long dry season is harmful to cacao because the
tree flowers and bears fruit throughout the year without a resting

period. Dry periods decrease the amount of fruit the tree can produce.

 

6Instituto Mexicano del Cafe: Estadisticas de Café'(México, D. F.:
L05 Talleres Graficos de la NaciOh, May, 1970), p. 2.

92

High atmospheric humidity and high moisture content of soils can
alleviate some of the decrease in yield caused by a dry season.
Although cacao flourishes at sea level, the size and flavor of the
beans increase with altitude. The maximum altitude for satisfactory
production is 2,000 feet, while 900 to 1,000 feet is preferred.
Physical requirements are most exactly met in the northwestern, or
Pichucalco, region of Chiapas. In the Soconusco high atmospheric and
soil humidity alleviate the effects of the area's long dry season.
Because of an acceptable climate and very fertile soils, cacao groves
produce larger and more aromatic beans than those of Pichucalco.

Chiapanecan groves are a mixture of sweet and bitter cacao trees.

 

Each has advantages and the ranchers prefer to grow both varieties,
rather than specialize in one. Sweet cacao is preferred for its
larger, more flavorful beans, but it is highly susceptible to
disease. Yields are lower than from forastero or bitter cacao.
Forastero beans are small, with a high content of bitter Oils.
Fermentation neutralizes the oils, but the flavor never equals that
of the sweet cacao bean. When interviewed, the ranchers were reluc-
tant to indicate their preference or estimate the number of trees of
each variety, but later observations in the field revealed that
forastero predominated in the northwest and sweet cacao in the Soco-
nusco region. Yet, all growers have both bitter and sweet cacao in
their orchards.

Cacao is a rapidly mutating specie, and sweet is more rapid than
bitter. The farmers indicated this when interviewed by naming
forastero and clonal as their most common cacao. Later, in the

field, they gave names to the clonal such as "criollo" or "Coasta

93

Rica." Clonal is the manner by which they obtain new trees. Forastero
may be grown from seed, but no seed of sweet cacao produces a tree with
the exact characteristics of the parent tree. Therefore, to prevent
mutations, slips or clones are taken from the parent and planted.
Seeds of sweet cacao are never used to start new trees. Costa Rica
is the most popular of sweet cacao because of its greater yield, but
planters who have begun cacao cultivation in the past twenty years
believe that Costa Rica has outlived its usefulness and a new variety
would improve cacao cultivation in the area.

In the Soconusco the oldest cacao orchards were once private
fincas but are now converted to ejidos. The one exception is that
of an owner who continued to cultivate the 700 acres that remained to
him after exPropriation of more than half of his holdings. The ejidos
and the orchard of this cacaotero are located on the piedmont. All
other producing units are Operated by cultivators who have entered
the field within the past twenty years and are located on the coastal
plain. Although the more recent growers may own several hundred acres,
only a very small part is in cacao. None of those interviewed in this
group cultivated more than forty acres of cacao and in most cases con-
siderably less. The same situation exists in the northern cacao
region. The north is cattle country and owners may hold 1,000 or
more acres, but they seldom have more than 200 or 300 acres of cacao.
Cacao occupies less than forty acres of each farm, and most of the

land is used for cattle. No cacao growers, including the ejiditarios,

 

consider cacao to be their most important crOp.
Labor requirements for cacao are minimal. Among farmers inter-

viewed the average number Of their permanent workers was one man for

94

each six to seven acres. As harvesting is a continual process, the
regular staff does the harvesting and there is no need for large num-
bers of temporary workers. The volume of the harvest does increase
from September to December, and some farmers will employ a few extra
workers at that time. Such laborers are usually hired from nearby
ej‘dos. The lone Soconusco cacaotero routinely maintains twelve to

sixteen permanent employees. Cacao ejidos are Operated on an indivi-

dual basis, each ejiditario caring for his own assigned acreage and

 

selling his own cacao. Each ejiditario may have twenty or more acres

 

assigned to him. Usually one-half or more is planted to subsistence

crOps and the remainder to cacao. None of the ejiditarios hire any

 

labor. Such extra help as the ejiditario may need is obtained from

 

his family. Permanent employees of cacao farms are usually drawn from
the local area and do not live on the property. The owner is thereby
relieved of the responsibility Of housing them. Also, with so few
employees, the cacao planters are not required to provide schools or

health facilities.

Other Inputs

 

The success or failure of cacao cultivation is dependent upon the
use of shade, fertilizers, and insecticides. Most growers of Chiapas
neglect the use of the fertilizers and insecticides, but all use shade.
Cacao requires heavy shade. Only 25 to 50 percent of the sunlight is
allowed to penetrate to the cacao. Shading protects the pod from sun-
burning and reduces water evaporation, thus conserving needed moisture.
Shading can be reduced as the trees mature and provide some self-

shading, but thinning is seldom undertaken. Tall trOpical woods are

95

preferred as they give maximum shade. Although shade trees provide

valuable woods, such as cedar and primavera, no use is made of them

for lumber and they generally outlive the cacao trees they protect.
In the use of chemical aids to cultivation, a sharp distinction

exists between the ejiditarios and private owners. None of the

 

ejiditarios apply fertilizer in any form, while small ranchers apply

 

a little occasionally. Nitrogen is most needed and is used every
three to eight years. As with coffee, the pulp or fruit is discarded
and the seeds or beans are the valuable part. Unlike coffee, however,
the unused residue from cacao is discarded and not used as compost.

The cacao tree is subject to many diseases and insect pests. With
the best of techniques, and in a good year, as much as one-half of the
potential production is lost to these causes. As with fertilizers, the

ejiditarios do not apply chemical pesticides in any form, but the

 

rancher does, usually as the diseases or pests appear. None are

applied preventatively.

Machinery

Cacao is cultivated on fairly gentle SIOpes, but very little
mechanization has occurred. Three of the ranchers interviewed in the
Soconusco make use of a tractor in preparing the land for planting new
trees and to clear the undergrowth. They also use back-packed sprayers
when fumigating. Other than this, no use of machinery in any form was
found. Almost the only tool employed is the machete. It is used for
digging, clearing undergrowth, trimming trees, harvesting the fruit,

and cutting Open the mazorcas or outer shells to obtain the beans.

96

Irrigation

In the Soconusco, the single large grower on the piedmont and the
small ranchers of the alluvial plain use irrigation during the dry
season. They irrigate by small gravity flow channels and small motor
pumps. Except the large cacaotero, however, none obtain all the water
they need. Supplies are limited, and the government regulates the
distribution. The cacaotero is most fortunate, as he is situated on
the piedmont beside one of the largest year—around rivers of the

region.

Harvesting

Harvesting is relatively simple. The mazorcas grow on the trunk
and largest branches of the trees, and are cut Off by machete as they
ripen. Harvesting is conducted throughout the year, although it
increases in volume between September and December. After the mazorca
is cut, it is allowed to dry for forty-eight hours and is then split
Open. The beans, which are clustered in the center, are removed and
put in a vat for washing. Then, they are spread out on a cement dry-
ing patio and sun dried for a day or two. After drying, they are
placed in lSO-pound sacks. When a sufficient amount is collected,
they are sent to market. The average yield is little over a ton per
acre.

It is during the harvest that much of the value of cacao is lost.
The method Of processing for market remains relatively unchanged since
pre-Columbian times. In those days all cacao was the sweet or criollo
cacao and needed no processing. Today, because of mutations, many

varieties of sweet cacao are grown. Some of their characteristics

97

have changed and become similar to the fOrastero, or bitter cacao,
except the Old criollo varieties. A period of fermentation is neces-
sary before drying to bring out flavor and increase sugar content.
Varying periods of fermentation from two to eight days are needed,

but all varieties can be fermented for the maximum period without

harm to the beans. The growers do no fermentation. Rather, the
fermentation is performed later by the chocolate processing factories,
which does not give the best results. This failure on the part of the
growers makes Mexican cacao undesirable on the international market,
and the domestic market is therefore the only market available for

Chiapanecan cacao.

 

Marketing and Transportation

 

Marketing cacao is very simple. There is only one buyer -- the
government. Transporting the cacao to market is much the same as for
coffee. Trucks are used when possible, but horses, mules, or donkeys

are used when necessary.

Markets

The Unidh de Cacaoteros is the only official purchaser of cacao.
It is a federal government agency which Operates several branch Offices
in each cacao region. The home Office in Mexico City sets the prices,
which vary by state. The states in which cacao cultivation is encour-
aged generally receive the highest prices. Chiapas is not a preferred
state, and growers are not ordinarily permitted to go outside their
own state to sell their crOps. In fact, they are limited to a specific
branch office. At least one of the growers of the Soconusco has found

ways to avoid this rule. The cacaotero runs a small chocolate processing

98

factory where he processes his own cacao. In turn, however, the
processed chocolate must be sold to the government and not to the
candy or cocoa makers. He cannot sell the cakes directly to other
processors, nor can he buy extra beans from local growers. Instead,
he must purchase these from the local Union office. One other cacao
grower in the Soconusco pays the local Union office a fee for each
pound of beans, and he then is free to sell his cacao in Mexico City.
As the fee and the shipping costs are included in his eXpenses, the
price he receives in Mexico City must be higher than the state price
of $.28 per pound so as to make the longer trip to market worth the
effort.

A larger chocolate processing factory is located in the heart of
the northwestern region, but the farmers here must also sell to the

Unidh, which in turn sells beans to the factory.

Transportation

Transportation of cacao is similar to that of coffee, differing
only in amount. In the Soconusco a better road system exists, and the
farmers therefore use trucks. In the northwestern region, roads of
any kind are few, and only the most fortunately situated can use trucks.
The bulk of the crop is transported by animals.

The Unidn offices in the Soconusco and Pichucalco, at the eastern
edge of the northwestern region, move cacao to market by road. Cacao
going to the Unidh office in the center of the northwestern region is
carried by pack animals, as there are no roads. The Union has no
transportation difficulties, since it is connected to the factory.

The factory processes the bulk of the crop in the northwest. It is

99

located beside the railroad and is without road service. Therefore the
processed cacao is shipped by rail only. If road service is available

in a given region, however, that is always the preferred method.

CHAPTER V

PRODUCTION TECHNIQUES: BANANAS AND COTTON

The last two crops of the study are bananas and cotton. Cotton
is an annual plant and although not an annual, bananas grow rapidly.
Consequently, both produce a crOp the year they are planted. However,
the crops differ in cultivation and marketing techniques. Cotton must
be replanted each year, while bananas need not be replanted for three
to five years. Bananas must be marketed immediately after picking;
but cotton can be stored for months, if necessary, before marketing.
As an industrial crOp cotton is highly regarded by the government and
receives much financial support. On the other hand, although an
acceptable crop, bananas receive little or no financial encouragement

from the government.

Bananas
Once an important export cr0p in Chiapas, bananas from the area
have not been sold on the international market since the 1940's. At
that time two diseases in epidemic prOportions destroyed or severely
injured the banana plants. Commercial cultivation in Chiapas ceased.
A modest revival began in the early 1960's which is slowly renewing
banana cultivation in Chiapas. EXpansion of the banana region is

expected when an export market is deve10ped.

100

101

Land and Labor

 

Bananas are the most demanding of the four crOps of the study in
terms of physical requirements. A giant tropical lowland herb, rather
than a tree, the banana plant cannot be grown commercially above 3,000
feet in altitude. Only the dwarf Cavendish is successful at that alti-
tude. Annual rainfall should be at least forty inches and distributed
fairly evenly throughout the entire year. In each producing region of
Chiapas the bananas are grown at low altitudes, only 100 to 200 feet
above sea level. Rainfall is more than adequate, but only in the
northwest is it quite evenly distributed throughout the year. The
Soconusco region has a long dry winter which reduces the yield of
bananas. The dry season may be partly offset by irrigation. Soil
requirements are more exacting. Bananas are shallow rooted, lacking
even a single deep taproot, and cannot obtain minerals from below the
horizon of leaching. Therefore, the surface soil must be extremely
fertile. Thus, bananas grow best on alluvial soils of coastal and
river flood plains. The two regions in Chiapas are both located on
alluvial soils, but those of the Soconusco are the more fertile because
they contain volcanic ash. The advantage of exceptionally good soil
outweighs the hazards of the dry season and makes the Soconusco the
preferred banana area. Strong winds are a major danger to the banana.
Windbreaks are used to protect the bananas, for the large leaves are

easily torn. This, in turn, reduces the fruit producing ability of the

$6235 . 1

In northwestern Chiapas the use of citrus (lemons and tangerines)

as windbreaks is common, but none are needed in the Soconusco. There,

 

l . .
Sepas are equivalent in the banana herb to the trunks and branches
of a tree.

102

winds strong enough to damage the bananas are rare, but hurricanes
occasionally do occur. The most recent, in early 1960, devastated all
banana groves in the Soconusco. Modern deve10pment of banana cultiva-
tion in the region has occurred since that hurricane.

Under the land tenure laws, proprietors of banana plantations
may own as many as 720 acres. However, none of the men presently
engaged in the cultivation have more than 600 acres. As commercial
banana cultivation in the northwestern or Pichucalco region has never
recovered from the destructive effects of the Panama disease, it has
dwindled to 2,500 acres owned by subsistence growers. While producing
far less than in the past, the Soconusco now has more than 12,000 acres
in commercial production. The greater part of this acreage is con-
trolled by forty-eight men. Of those interviewed, two have between
500 and 600 acres. All others average fewer than one hundred. At

present, no ejiditarios are engaged in commercial production. Most

 

plantations are small, and only owners with 500 or more acres are
exclusively banana growers. Growers with smaller farms also culti-
vate cacao and cotton or raise cattle. All of the present banana land
has been in bananas for more than eight years. Previously the land
was in pastures, cacao, cotton, or scrub forests. Although theoreti-
cally land can remain in bananas for centuries, the average life of
commercial plantations has been from five to twenty-five years. Due
to soil depletion and the Panama disease, which is believed connected
to loss of soil fertility, land in bananas has always shifted gradu-
ally to new sites.2 But, now, both fertility and Panama disease can

be controlled and migratory shifts are less likely to occur.

 

2N. W. Simmonds, Bananas (London: Longmans, Green and Co., Ltd.,

1959), p. 191.

103

With the recent redevelOpment of banana cultivation in the
Soconusco, all of the producers there grow the Cavendish variety.
Those of the Pichucalco region continue with Gros Michel but are
changing to the Valery, one of the Cavendish varieties. The Cavendish
banana has several advantages. It is immune to Panama disease and
its shorter stature makes it less liable to wind damage. The fruit
is sturdy and withstands packing and shipping. The hands or bunches
of bananas are not as compact and are not as easy to pack as the old
Gros Michel variety. Advantages outweigh disadvantages, however,
and the Cavendish banana is the increasingly popular choice among
world growers.

Banana cultivation starts by planting either suckers or corms.3
In Chiapas corms are preferred as several trunks will emerge, but
only one emerges from suckers. A few weeks after pieces of corms
or rhizomes, taken from former sepas, are planted new shoots appear.
These have grown horizontally out from the corm. As soon as they are
clear of the parent corm, they grow vertically. Reaching the surface,
the shoots form the new sepas or psuedo trunk. Several such shoots
grow from single corms, giving rise to the cluster or clumps of banana
sepas. Each psuedo trunk will bear a single stem of fruit, after which
it dies and, in turn, another in the same clump produces a stem.

The work cycle of the banana plantation begins with preparation
of land for planting. Formerly the land was plowed, but in the past
two decades experiments have proved plowing unnecessary. Except for

clearing undergrowth, no preparation is needed. However, in Chiapas

 

3Suckers are small stems one to two feet in height. Corms are
pieces of subterranean trunks or roots of former sepas.

104

all planters interviewed prepared their land by plowing. Many were
faced with the necessity of first removing old cacao trees or pasture.
Therefore, they considered plowing to be an absolute necessity. Before
planting commences, the spacing of trees is decided. However, the
decision can be made as effectively when thinning starts. Spacing has
a decided effect on yields as the size of the banana and number on
each stem declines with increasing density. Although stems have fewer
and smaller bananas when closely planted, the total number of stems
are increased and volume is actually larger. Good practice permits
density to vary from 2 1/2 x 4 1/2 feet to 17 x 17 feet per cluster
of sepas, according to soil and moisture conditions.4 In the north-
west, planting is somewhat haphazard and no specific spacing could be
ascertained. But, in the Soconusco spacing is uniform. Bananas are
sold by number and size of bananas on each stem, and consequently 81
square feet (9 x 9) is considered Optimum spacing. One planter who
exports to the United States has planted his newest fields more closely
allowing 36 square feet (6 x 6) per clump of sepas. These fields were
reaching the thinning stage at the time of this study, and he had not
yet decided upon selling by numbers of stems or by banana weight.
After planting, the ground is kept clear by cutting the under-
growth, but no attempt is made to keep it free of weeds. Before the
clusters of trees bear fruit, they must be thinned to allow each stem
of fruit full room and light to grow. Fruiting begins ten to eleven
months after planting, and the harvest begins in three more months.
Each psuedo trunk will bear one stem and then die. These must then

be cut away to allow another sepa to fruit.

 

4Simmonds, Bananas, p. 158.

105

The work cycle is steady, without seasonal fluctuations. As a
result, the peOple employed are permanent workers. No temporary labor
is required. The farmers of the Soconusco estimate that one man can
care for from two to five acres. According to the acreage in bananas,
each planter employs from two to 100 men. The planters interviewed
were reluctant to speak of precise numbers of employees. The workers
are obtained locally and live on, or near, the plantation. They are

experienced men, since the work requires considerable skill.

Other Inputs

 

As modern commercial cultivation of bananas occurs in the trOpical
lowlands, it is subject to rapid loss of soil fertility, weed control
problems, and numerous diseases and pests. Planters combat these con-

ditions with the heavy use of chemicals and other technological aids.

Fertilizers

Loss of soil fertility through leaching is a serious problem in
banana cultivation because the banana plant is shallow rooted, without
a tap root that can reach through the leached horizon to obtain min-
erals in the deeper soil. The required minerals must be replaced
constantly by chemical fertilizers. All farmers interviewed agree
that fertilizers are necessary, but only two apply them regularly.
Nitrogen is the most commonly needed element and the one to which
the plants respond most rapidly. Therefore, nitrogen, in the form
of urea, is used most frequently and often exclusively. Although
phosphate and potash are needed in most areas of banana cultivation,

no use of these could be ascertained in the Soconusco.

106

No chemicals are used for weed control. In Chiapas, weeds are
cut while the bananas are only a few months old and are left to cover
the ground. Once the trees have grown to full stature, they shade the
ground and reduce the growth of weeds. The sepas removed during thin-
ning and after fruiting are also left on the ground to rot as fertilizer
and as ground cover. IntercrOpping can be used as a form of ground
cover and weed control without harm to the banana crop, but is not

practiced in this region.

Insecticides

As in most trOpical regions, disease and insects are a problem in
Chiapas. Panama disease, which in the past caused the shift in Central
America banana regions from the east to the west coast, is not a problem
in the Soconusco. The Cavendish banana appears to be immune to this
disease. Sigatoka or leaf spot is the second most destructive banana
disease. It is a fungus infection which ultimately destroys the banana
leaves. Without functioning leaves the fruit will not develop. For
over twenty years, control of the disease has been possible by spraying
with a refined mineral oil. The Cavendish banana in pure stands is
susceptible to Sigatoka, but the latter is a rainy season disease and
the dry season Of the Soconusco limits its effects. The Soconusco
planters interviewed agree that the use of insecticides is beneficial
but are reluctant to say how often and what kinds of sprays are used.
Farmers with less than 100 acres report that they can usually control
diseases by cutting down and destroying infected sepas. This suggests
that small planters do not routinely use chemical insecticides and only
on the few larger plantations is disease control by chemicals a normal

procedure.

107

Irrigation

In Chiapas, bananas are the only commercial crop routinely irri-
gated. They can survive through the winter dry season, but the amount
of fruit produced is seriously diminished. The Soconusco banana
planters have benefitted from the government-developed series of
drainage canals in the Soconusco coastal plain. The same canals are
used to bring irrigation water during the dry season. Because the
primary purpose of these canals is to prevent flooding, they are not
associated with holding dams and no large volume of water is retained
for irrigation. And although the larger rivers have water throughout
the year, volume decreases sharply during the dry season. Therefore,
water for irrigation is in short supply. Each planter pays for water
and is assigned a definite amount at specific intervals. Competition
for water is keen and the farmer never receives as much as he needs.
As a result, some maneuvering occurs and some farmers receive more
than their allotted share.

Irrigation is accomplished by gravity flow canals, occasionally
supplemented by small motor pumps. Each planter must maintain the
length of the canal that passes through his prOperty. One farmer
has contracted for an overhead spray unit which will irrigate about
125 acres of his prOperty. Although he has been willing to try a
different method of irrigation, he is not entirely sure that the
benefits of overhead irrigation will offset the heavy expense of
its installation. If it proves satisfactory, he intends to install
it on his entire 500 acres. None of the other interviewees had

considered new methods of irrigation.

108

Machinery

All farmers interviewed own tractors, which are used for plowing
and to pull wagons for the harvest of banana stems. Most have a few
small pumps for irrigation. Three have back-packed spraying equipment.
Other than this, no mechanical equipment is used in the cultivation.
Machetes and a curved blade on a long handle are the important imple-

ments, since nearly all work is done by hand.

Harvesting

Bananas are harvested throughOut the year, but planting, pruning,
and cutting of the fruit must be carefully calculated so as to maintain
approximately the same amount each week. Bananas cannot be stored, and
regular amounts must reach the market on the same day of each week.
They are cut when fully developed but not yet ripened. If harvested
at the proper time, they are subsequently ripened artificially at the
market before being sold.

When all of the banana hands on a stem are fully developed, but
still green without the slightest tinge of yellow, the stem is cut.

The entire stem is removed from the psuedo trunk. The stems are then
carried to a central location where they must be washed. For all but
one of the farmers interviewed, this is the only processing conducted.
The entire stem is next loaded on Open trucks and sent to market on
the same day it is cut, or the following morning at the latest.

One planter carries the processing further. His bananas are
washed, separated into hands, and placed in polyethylene bags. They
are then packed into forty-pound cartons and loaded immediately into

refrigerated trucks. This planter uses more SOphisticated processing

109

because this is the preferred way, but even for him all of the processing
is done by hand and by the same employees who carry out all of the other

work on the plantation.

MarketingLand Transportation

 

The most critical element in commercial banana transportation is
time. Bananas are highly perishable and must be transferred to market
immediately after picking. An error or delay anywhere in the harvest-

ing or marketing process may mean loss of the bananas cut at that time.

Markets

At present the market for Chiapanecan bananas is Mexico City. All

 

but two of the farmers sell their product in this market. The two have
buyers in the United States. Although the growers Obtain fair prices
in Mexico City, they would prefer markets overseas but have not secured
them. The Mexican market is limited, and bananas for overseas markets
are sold under definite contracts. Such contracts require large ton-
nages on a regular schedule. Because overseas contracts are not
available, only forty-eight producers have been attracted to modern
banana cultivation and total tonnage is small. Buyers such as United
Fruit will not contract for Soconusco bananas until a larger supply

can be guaranteed by the growers. A kind of deadlock exists. Growers
cannot Obtain credit for expansion until they have a contract, and

they cannot get a contract until they expand production. Growers

dream of the future and a change in the international market. This
change can only result from a big increase in demand from centrally-
controlled nations or from a disaster in some major banana-growing

region of the world. The first will be slow to come, but in the

110

past disasters have wiped out production in an entire area and given

new regions their chance.

Marketing Agents

Banana production in Chiapas has no brokerages comparable to those
that exist for coffee, which are organized to purchase locally and ship
the product to market. Small jobbers, simply men with access to trucks,
do purchase bananas for the local market from non-commercial growers, but
each commercial planter must do his own selling and transporting. Two
or three growers own trucks and move their product to Mexico City, where
they sell to buyers in the central market. However, most turn to the
largest producers, those with more than 500 acres, and sell to them.

The growers have formed a co-operative to act as a marketing
agent. The co-0perative has concentrated on seeking overseas markets
and credit for development, but without success. The two growers who
have markets in the United States made their own arrangements, without

the services of an agent.

Transportation

Speed is important in shipping bananas to market, and all bananas
therefore go by truck. The two growers who eXport to the United States
own and operate their own refrigerated trucks, whereas all others use
open trucks. The stems are packed in the trucks, protected from
bruising with banana leaves and shipped immediately. Dependence is
on speed to get the product to market before the bananas ripen
extensively.

Good roads are essential to banana regions. A decided lack of

secondary roads in the Pichucalco area is perhaps a major reason for

111

its failure to regain its former importance in banana cultivation. On
the other hand, the Soconusco has a better deve10ped road network. All
banana plantations are either along the major paved highway or are less
than two hours from it by unpaved secondary roads. No banana planter
has had to develOp his own secondary road, as did the early coffee
planters. However, if international markets are secured they may not
be limited exclusively to the United States, and an ocean port would
then become a necessity. One function of the Puerto Madero develop-
ment is to provide the highly specialized banana loading facilities

not available at the present time.

Cotton
In Chiapas, cotton is the commercial crOp which has received the
most attention in the past decade. Commercial production has been
made possible by the sponsorship and credit of the government. Because
of the high incidence of disease, cotton is a high cost crOp in Chiapas

and its continuation depends upon continued government SUpport.

Land and Labor

 

Cotton can be grown under a wide range of physical conditions.
For tropical regions such as Chiapas, the temperatures are satisfactory
throughout the year. Therefore, the actual growing season is deter-
mined by rainfall, rather than temperature, as the bolls must open in
the dry season. The plants thrive best on deep loamy soils that have
a high moisture content during the early growing season and are rela-
tively dry at other times. In Chiapas, the Soconusco and the central
region have exceptionally good soils. The Soconusco has more than

enough rainfall, while that of the central region is marginal. Both

112

have the dry season essential for deve10pment and harvesting of the
cotton. In both regions cotton is planted on relatively level land,
which is necessary for the best growth of the plant and facilitates
the use of machinery. In addition, cotton requires moist, but well
drained, land. The problem of excessively wet soils was solved on the
alluvial coastal plain by the drainage system recently constructed by
the government. The central zone does not have a drainage problem.
Some 90,000 acres of cotton are planted each year, of which 60,000
are in the Soconusco. Land in the coastal zone is considered first
class, and each owner is restricted to 240 acres. That in the central
zone, because of lesser rainfall, has varying classifications which
permits farmers to own double or triple the acreage allowed in the
Soconusco. Despite this difference, the largest amount of land planted
to cotton by all but one farmer interviewed is 240 acres. The excep-
tion is a farmer on the fringe of the central zone who is experimenting
with the crOp, and he has planted 390 acres. As he was successful the
first year, he intends to increase the amount in succeeding years.
Taken as a unit, an ejidg_in cotton includes a much greater
acreage than do individual farms. In the Soconusco the entire glide,
except for a few acres of subsistence crOps, is devoted to cotton and
may include up to 3,000 acres. In the central zone the largest cotton
growing ejidg has 500 acres. But, the cotton ejidos are not all
Operated as co-Operatives. Therefore, when the land is considered as

individual lots, the largest holding of cotton by an ejiditario is

 

twenty-five acres and is usually much less.
Cotton cultivation is a purely commercial Operation in Chiapas,

under strict government supervision. A permit must be obtained to

113

plant cotton, and the farmer must agree to use machinery and modern
technology. More than is true of any other commercial crOp in Chiapas,
cotton cultivation depends on credit. The government provides credit
with the permit, and this enables the farmer to use all the machinery,
chemical fertilizers, and pesticides needed.

The cultivation cycle for cotton begins near the end of the dry
season when the ground is plowed and fertilized in preparation for
planting. In May the second application of fertilizer is done at the
same time the seeds are planted. The land must be cultivated at least
twice during the early growth of the plant and sprayed twice a month
with insecticides throughout the growing period. Only harvesting is
a hand Operation. With the long winter dry season the harvest may be
delayed until all cotton bolls are fully Opened and the plant foliage
has become dry and withered. Then, the harvest can be completed with
a single pass over the fields.

Mechanization has reduced to a minimum the need for permanent
employees. In the Soconusco, a little cotton land is owner-operated.
Usually the owner hires a foreman and perhaps two or three other
employees. In the central zone the owners generally act as foreman-
managers and have eight or ten permanent employees, plus additional
temporary workers hired locally during the busiest periods. However,
the size of the mixed farms in the central zone is much larger and
more labor is needed to handle all the crOps. None of the permanent
employees are hired to work exclusively in the cotton fields.

Ejiditarios with the help of their families can do all the required

 

work and have no need of extra workers at any time.

114

During the harvest period in Chiapas as a whole, more labor is
needed. About 25,000 extra or temporary workers are hired. Laborers
can be drawn from nearby ejidos and subsistence farms, but most are

migrant workers from other parts of Mexico, as shown in Table 2. The

TABLE 2

ESTIMATED SOURCE OF TEMPORARY LABOR
IN CHIAPAS FOR COTTON HARVESTa

 

 

 

Number of
Source
Workers
Soconusco 5,000
Central Zone 1,000
Valle de Oaxaca 18,000
Northern Mexico 1,000
(probably Guerrero)

Total 25,000

aInterview with Sr. Socrates Castillo y Porrasco,
President of the Cotton Union, November, 1972.

 

entire 25,000 temporary workers are a small number to harvest 90,000
acres by hand, but the extended dry season allows the employment of
fewer men over a longer time. Harvesting begins with the onset of the
dry season, several months before the next rains are eXpected. There
is no need to harvest quickly to avoid crop damage. The harvest period
extends for two months, beginning in early December and ending about

the first of February.

Other Inputs

 

Without the aid of chemical products, cotton could not be produced
commercially in Chiapas. All are applied in the manner and amounts

prescribed by federal agricultural agents. Although the farmer is

115

willing or even anxious to use fertilizers and pesticides, he has no

choice in what is used or when it will be applied.

Seeds

Cotton grown in Chiapas is average-to-low staple (3/4"), which is
known as upland cotton and is similar to that of southeastern United
States.5 It is a hybrid called Delta Pine. Originally deve10ped in
the United States, it was first obtained there. However, in the past
few years, three ejidos and four farmers have specialized in producing
the seeds. Together they can supply nearly 1,000,000 pounds of seeds,
which is more than sufficient to supply the needs of the farmers in

the Soconusco and central zone.

Fertilizers and Insecticides

The cotton plant is a heavy user of nitrogen. This, combined with
the normal rapid loss of nitrogen from trOpical soils, indicates the
great need for continued fertilization if cotton is to be grown con-
tinuously on the same land. The soils are checked each year by the
agricultural agents and precise amounts needed are determined.
However, more than nitrogen is added. The fertilization program is
designed to restore the three major elements of nitrogen, phosphorus,
and potassium, a common farm practice throughout the world. The costs
to the farmer have averaged twenty dollars per acre. It is applied
twice a year, first when the fields are plowed and again at planting
time. More than two applications are seldom made in a year.

Chemical sprays are occasionally applied for weed control, but

most cleaning of the fields is by cultivation. After two cultivations

 

5Staple refers to the length of the fibers in raw cotton.

116

the cotton plants are large enough to prevent further growth of
weeds.

Another use of chemicals is for disease and pest control. In
the tropics where diseases are both numerous and rapidly destructive,
a 40 percent loss of the crOp is not unusual even with the most care-
ful attention. Without chemical safeguards the entire crOp may be
destroyed in two or three weeks. Most of the destruction by disease
and pests occurs during the rainy season. After the dry season begins
further damage to the crOps is unlikely. The farmer watches for signs
of disease. If he finds any, he immediately notifies the cotton union.
An epidemiologist is immediately sent to identify the cause and
prescribe specific chemical sprays. Approximately ten different
chemicals are used. Unless a new and different plague results in
extra spraying, the cotton fields are sprayed twice each month with
the formula the epidemiologists calculate will best control the common
diseases. The farmer has no control over the spraying. Considerable
dissatisfaction arises when the crop duster fails to arrive when the
farmer expects him or does not spray as much as desired. Unfortunately,
the farmer has no recourse except to complain to the cotton union.
Spraying is one of the major expenses, costing about sixty dollars
per acre for the insecticides and twenty dollars for services of the
crop duster.

The crOp duster service consists of small one-engine planes,
Piper Cubs, or similar models, which are fitted for crOp dusting.
Twelve planes in the Soconusco and eight in the central zone are
sufficient. They are employed by the government and not by the

farmers association.

117

Machinery

With the exception of harvesting, all of the cotton producing
activities are mechanized. The farmers have access to tractors, plows,
harrows, and discs, which are usually part of any mechanized farming.
In general only the largest private farms and ejidos have their own
equipment. For others, arrangements are made with the credit agency
to furnish the necessary equipment. The arrangements vary somewhat
from person to person. Farmers sometimes rent the equipment for the
entire season, as is most common in the central zone where mixed cotton
and grain farming permits its extended use. In the Soconusco rental
is more likely to be for a specified period. This is less true Of the

tractors, however, since most Of these are in almost constant use.

Harvesting

Harvesting is the single activity which is not mechanized. In
the Soconusco the cotton plants are six feet tall and too large for
mechanical pickers. Mechanical pickers would be more satisfactory in
the central zone. However, cotton has only been cultivated there
during the past four or five years; and for most of the farmers the
acreage does not warrant the expense. Actually, the use of mechanical
pickers has simply not been considered.

Harvesting begins during December in both regions. Including
their permanent labor, the farmers hire about one man for every five
or six acres of land in cotton. Christmas week is the peak of the
harvest period, but it is not unusual for vast fields to remain
unharvested until February. Picking is done by hand and the bolls
are simply piled into a truck. NO processing is needed on the farm

itself.

118

Yields vary from year to year, depending upon factors such as
weather and disease, but average three-fourths to one ton per acre.
Today, the value of cotton does not lie solely with the lint. Formerly

a waste product, seeds are now valued for the oil they contain.

Marketing and Transportation

 

Consistent with government supervision of planting and cultivation
of cotton, the final marketing and transportation of the crops are

conducted directly by government credit agencies.

Markets

There are two markets for cotton. One is the intermediate market
for farmers, and the other is the cloth manufacturers. The farmers'
market is the credit agency which provides the capital for cultivation.

The credit agencies Operate the despepitadoras or cotton gins in the

 

area. There are seven gins in the Soconusco and one in the central
zone. Most of the farmers interviewed on being asked to whom they
sold their cr0p simply designated the cotton gin. When brought to

the gin, the cotton is weighed and credited to the farmer's account.
Later, the value of the seed is added. The farmer is not paid immedi-
ately, but must wait until March. When the payment arrives, the
previous year's loans are paid and the farmer receives the remainder.
When a delay in payment occurs, as it did for the central zone in
1971, the farmers become angry. For many the profits are their total
income for the year, which they need to make preparations for the next
season's planting. Delayed payment has turned several against cotton,

and they refused to plant it the following year.

119

The ultimate destination of Chiapanecan cotton is the textile

 

mills of Mexico. The greater percentage goes to the city of Puebla,
and the remainder is fairly evenly divided between Mexico City and
Guadalajara. Upon occasion a small amount is sold to Japan and Italy.
However, this occurs after the crOp had been sent north and local

agents are not involved in the transaction.

Marketing Agents

The only cotton buyers are the credit agencies, even for the rare
farmer who does not use credit in planting the crOp. The latter is
usually the farmer who has only one or two acres which are planted on
an experimental basis. Credit agencies are government banks which
theoretically can provide credit to any farmer for any crop but, in
reality, will advance credit only for cattle or cotton. The Banco
Nacional de Credito Ejidal is a special bank which serves the ejidos.

Individual ejiditarios and private owners are not eligible for credit

 

from this bank.

The farmer, individual ejiditario, or an ejido as a whole are

 

free to obtain credit where they will. Usually they go to the source
they prefer for personal reasons, or which they believe will give them
the most credit. Loans for cotton are made on the basis of the land
value which, since cotton has proved successful, has increased to
two hundred dollars per acre.

Each bank has an office in Tapachula for the Soconusco region
and a cotton gin on the outskirts of the city. The arrangement is the
same in Tuxtla Gutierrez for the central zone, except that there is

only a single cotton gin which Operates for all the credit agencies.

120

Another government agency, assisting the credit agencies, is the
Associacidh de Algodoneras. The farmers bring their problems here.
The application of fertilizers, scheduling of crOp dusting, and other

procedures are all arranged from this Office.

Transportation

Transporting cotton from the fields to the despepitadora is

 

relatively simple and is the responsibility of the farmers. In the
Soconusco those whose fields are within five or ten miles of the

despepitadora haul their cotton on the trailers loaded in the fields

 

and pulled by tractors. For longer distances in the Soconusco, and
all farms in the central zone, the cotton is brought by any available

truck. Many farmers own their own, but many others rent them.

TABLE 3

AVERAGE SHIPPING COSTS FOR COTTON IN
CHIAPAS PER METRIC TONa

 

 

 

Destination Train Truck
Puebla $19.00 $26.00
Mexico City 21.00 30.00
Guadalajara 26.00 40.00

aSource: Union de Algodoneros.

 

Moving the baled cotton after ginning is by two methods. In
the central zone all cotton goes by truck to its final destination.
In the Soconusco both truck and train are readily available. More

than half goes by train, but actual percentages vary from year to

121

year. Trucks are gradually replacing the train because of the
difference in time saved, not because of cost (Table 3). Shipping

by train is less expensive, especially when a large volume is involved,
but trains will not handle less than several carloads. Freight by
train takes from one to three weeks, whereas trucks reach their desti-
nation in from thirty-six to forty-eight hours. As a general rule,
cotton needed immediately is sent by truck, and that to be processed

later is shipped by train.

CHAPTER VI

ANALYSIS OF THE STUDY

Understanding the present should facilitate valid predictions of
the fUture. Thus, by using the four crOps of the study as representa-
tive of commercial agriculture in Chiapas, it is anticipated that some
indication can be given of the direction commercial agriculture will
take in the future. The analysis has been carried out by l) considering
production trends of the crops, 143: changes in acreage under cultiva-
tion and shifts in location and yields; 2) attempting to correlate any
changes with present techniques of production; and 3) examining

Obstacles to further deve10pment.

Production Trends

 

Production trends indicate the growth or decline of crops. An
indicator of production trends is the variation in number of acres
devoted to a particular crop each year. Continued increase in acreage
suggests that the crop is profitable and more land is available for
that crop. On the other hand, declining acreage can mean that l) the
land is unsuitable for a certain crOp; 2) no market exists, and there-
fore the crOp is unprofitable; 3) a surplus exists and a balance is
being sought between the amount produced and the market demand; or

4) decreased acreage, coupled with increases in yield, suggests that

changes in techniques have reduced the amount of land needed for the

122

123

crop. Changes in coffee, cacao, bananas, and cotton are accounted for
by one or more of these conditions and suggest probable conditions for

any commercial agriculture in Chiapas.

Coffee

According to official records, the number of acres in coffee before
1930 increased or decreased each year; but these fluctuations were more
a result of inaccurate data than reality. Since 1930, data reporting
has improved and reflects a continuing growth in acreage. The improve-
ment occurred because the government needed the knowledge for use in
land redistribution. From 1928 to 1940 new forms of land tenure were
applied in Chiapas. Property in excess of 300 hectares on individual
fincas was either expropriated or the owners succeeded in selling it
before action could be taken against them. Part of the land taken from
large fincas was forested and held in reserve for future plantings.
Between 1940 and 1950, much of it was put under coffee cultivation.
Between 1940 and the present, a large part of the increase in commer-
cial agriculture has been the result of improved access to new areas.
For example, service roads built to facilitate construction of the
Grijalva project opened lands in the northern zone where squatters
moved in and planted coffee.

From 1960 to 1970 two types of growth occurred. In the northern

region several municipios reported coffee cultivation for the first

 

time. As a result of work by the Indian Bureau and the Instituto

Mexicano del Cafe: Indians on a number of ejidos in these municipios

 

were persuaded to try growing coffee. While individual Indians or

even an entire ejido do not as yet cultivate many acres, they

124

collectively account for several thousand acres of new coffee lands.
Second, the phenomenon of soluble coffee has added an estimated 8,000
hectares of coffee land to the total.1 Soluble coffee is manufactured
successfully from poorer grades of coffee which are not acceptable for
export. Most of the soluble quality coffee is grown at low altitudes
and constitutes a new commercial crOp.

The best land for coffee is now under cultivation. Perhaps a few
hundred acres remain which can be added, but any sizeable addition to
acreage will have to be in marginally satisfactory land, which, except
for about 5,000 hectares, has so far been avoided. Real growth in
coffee production is expected to come from increased yield, rather
than from increased acreage.2

The volume of coffee produced has steadily increased with increased
coffee acreage, but more revealing is the average yield per acre. Actual
yields fluctuate each year according to weather conditions, but ten-
year averages, barring total disaster, smooth out small fluctuations
and indicate the progress of the crop. Ten-year averages in Chiapas
demonstrate a general improvement in yield (Table 4). Only the 1950
average fell abruptly. Between 1940 and 1950 an estimated 35 to 40
percent of coffee cultivation was conducted by German-born planters
who, during the years of World War II and a short period afterward,
were interned. They were unable to manage their prOperties, and con-

trol was turned over to various government banks. In the hands of

 

1Interview with Ing. Manuel Garcia E” Instituto Mexicano del Cafe:
Tuxtla Gutierrez, October, 1972.

2Interview with Ing. Manuel Garcia E” Instituto Mexicano del Cafe:
Tuxtla Gutierrez, December, 1972.

125

TABLE 4

COFFEE ACREAGE AND PRODUCTION
IN CHIAPASa

 

 

 

Year Acres Tons/M AzgiAzigld
1930 59,582 11,740 460
1940 80,542 18,525 498
1950 175,613 30,000 363
1960 227,794 44,000 434
1972 284,160 76,000 587

aSecretaria de Agricultura y Ganaderia.

 

inexperienced managers, the yields of the German-Owned prOperties
declined drastically and resulted in an overall decrease in the state
average for that period. Despite the reduction in yield per acre,
total tonnage Of coffee increased through the addition of nearly
40,000 hectares to the total under cultivation.

Between 1930 and 1970 the average yield increased from 460 to
587 pounds per acre or a total of 127 pounds per acre in the forty-
year period. The increase cannot be accounted for by changes in
techniques of cultivation. With the exception of one man, all farmers
interviewed follow the same methods of cultivation as did the early
planters. They did substitute electric power for water power to
operate drying machinery when it became feasible but have made no

other changes.

126

Since 1930 the active enforcement of land tenure laws has changed
the structure of land ownership. Today, the owners of private fincas

control 29.2 percent, ejiditarios 28.2 percent, and small ranchers

 

nearly 42.6 percent of the land (Table 5). Some variation in yield

occurs between microregions, but among the farmers interviewed yield

 

 

 

TABLE 5
SIZE AND TYPE OF COFFEE FARMS
IN CHIAPASa
Size in Number of Total
Type Of Farm Acres Farms Acreage Percent
Fincas:
Large 240-700 112 80,640 28.4
Medium 120 11 1,320 0.5
Small 60 12 720 0.3
Ejidos Variable 225 80,222 28.2
Small Ranches 60 8,141+ 121,113 42.6

aPersonal Interviews and Instituto Mexicano del Caféi

 

appears to have some relationship to acreage cultivated and the form

of ownership. Ejiditarios in the sample group produce from three to

 

five guintales per acre.:5 Fingueros with sixty acres or more gather
4.2 to 8.3 guintales, and those with less than sixty obtain from
2.5 to 5 guintales. From observation this suggests that large prOp-

erties are the most productive and ejidos among the least. Yet,

 

3Quintales are measures under which coffee is handled on the
world market. Each guintal of café'de oro weighs sixty kilograms
or 132 pounds.

127

three large ejidos managed as co-0peratives obtain yields which fall
within the range characteristic of large fincas.

Factors more important than size appear to be management, labor,
and the type of coffee grown. Those properties supervised by a full-
time manager, either the owner or an employee who lives on the property,
invariably produce the highest yields. Most such fincas are controlled
by planters of German descent. The usual pattern is for non-German

owners to spend most of their time off the land, only living there

TABLE 6

FORM OF MANAGEMENT AND SIZE OF LABOR FORCE
FOR FINCAS OF 240 ACRES OR MOREa

 

 

 

. Labor Employed Average Yield
Location Management All Year Harvest Lb/Acre
Soconusco Full time 270 700-1,000 8.3

Part time 50-60 300 5.8
Central Part time 50-80 90-100 5.2
Northern Part time 0 50-60 2.5

aSample interviews and Instituto Mexicano del Cafe:

 

for a short period during the harvest. This is true of the small
farmer as well as the finguero. Labor is also of importance. The
Soconusco coffee fincas tend to have the highest yields and employ
the largest labor force, during the year as well as for the harvest
(Table 6). Perhaps the most striking contrast is the difference in

yield between the Soconusco fincas and the northern ranches. Allowing

128

for a possible difference in quality of the land, the amount of labor
used in caring for the coffee appears to be one of the important
factors.

Although large fincas generally produce higher yields than either
ejidos or small farms, the range of yields in each class of land owner-
ship overlaps. The lower yields of the small ranches do not alter the
structure of gradual increase with size in all coffee regions, but
this increase is a function of the trees and not of improved techniques.
Between 1950 and 1972, 45,000 hectares of new coffee land were added.
New trees begin bearing fruit in five years, and much of the increase
in yields can be attributed to these comparatively young trees in the
period of their heaviest production. Also, in the past decade, con-
siderable expert advice has been provided by the Instituto Mexicano del
Café’and the state experimental stations. Both agencies have deve10ped
new types of trees which are suited to the particular terrain and have
higher yields. Planters no longer say that all their trees are Bourbon
or Tipica. Instead, they plant specific trees for specific conditions.
Criollo prevails above 4,000 feet, Bourbon or Marago at 3,500 to 4,000
feet, Mundonova at 2,000 to 3,000 feet, and Robusta in the lowlands.
Much of the increased yield is the result of a higher percentage of
trees in their best yield period and more trees of high-yield varieties
planted in appropriate locations.

The final large gain in yield from 1960 to 1972 was achieved from
planting Robusta at low altitudes for the soluble coffee market.
Robusta is the highest yielding strain of coffee tree, averaging nearly
one metric ton per acre--a yield four times greater than that of the

pOpular varieties of Arabica.

129

Continued increase in acreage, yield, and numbers of farmers
involved in coffee cultivation suggest that coffee is especially
suited to the physical conditions in Chiapas. Even the small farmer,

including the ejiditario, can be successful. Techniques, although not

 

necessarily the most modern, are efficient and well understood by the
farmers. Coffee will remain one of the most important commercial crops

in Chiapas.

From 1900 to 1940 the acreage under cacao cultivation remained
stable, with most production coming from the Soconusco region. Supply
satisfied the limited demand. But, with the end of the world-wide
depression and the start of World War II, the demand for cacao began
to climb, and to meet it more and more cacao trees were planted (Table 7).
During the period between 1928 and 1940 land tenure laws were actively
enforced, and large estates of all kinds were divided. Some of the land
was used to establish ejidos and the remainder sold in small lots to
individual buyers. By 1940 the cacao lands of the Soconusco were pri-

marily in the hands of ejiditarios, and little increase in acreage

 

occurred in this region. However, in the northwestern cacao area few
ejidos were established and private planters were responsible for most
of the increase. No large cacao plantations were developed. Instead,
the increase occurred from hundreds of ranchers planting from five to
fifty acres of cacao. Over the years the production has not been
stable, some of the farmers discontinuing cultivation and others ini-

tiating it. Today, most of the cacao is centered in three municipios,

 

with neighboring ones of lesser importance.

130

 

 

 

TABLE 7
CACAO ACREAGE AND PRODUCTION
IN CHIAPASa
Average Yield
Year Acres Tons/M Lb/Acre
1930 5,038 371 162
1940 9,060 606 146
1950 34,231 3,709 238
1960 60,000 6,500 243

1972 96,000 11,000 252

l I
aSecretaria de Agricultura y Ganaderia.

 

In the 1960's the agricultural experiment station of Rosario Izapa
became, and remains, active in develOping improved varieties of cacao.
The harvest from the experimental trees made this station the single
largest grower in the state. At the same time men who had previously
engaged in cotton or banana cultivation became interested in cacao,
and began the cultivation. The Soconusco now includes 26,500 acres or
approximately one-fourth of the state's total acreage.

The lower yields of the 1930's and 1940's had several probable
causes. The trees were older, many past their prime producing years.
The turmoil of instituting new forms of land ownership interfered with

prOper care of plantations, and the ejiditarios had not yet become

 

accustomed to cultivating their own property. Cacao trees are highly
susceptible to disease, sometimes becoming infected with more than one

disease at a time. In the best years when the minimum loss occurs,

131

TABLE 8

CACAO YIELDS PER ACRE 0N SELECTED SAMPLE
CACAO FARMS IN CHIAPAS DURING 1971a

 

 

 

Area Type of Farm Lbs/Acre
Soconusco Ejido 455
Piedmont private farm 500
Coastal private farm 1,558
North Private farm 1,750

aInterviews of sample group.

 

the growers still lose one-third to one-half of the cacao crOp through
this cause. Since 1940 yields have risen steadily. This is due par-
tially to aid provided by the eXperiment station staff which supplies

new, heavy yield trees at nominal cost to farmers, especially ejiditarios,

 

upon request. The experiment station staff and agricultural agents are
increasingly reaching the cacao planters with technical advice. Although

the ejiditarios of the Soconusco accept such advice, they can seldom

 

follow it. Advice is concerned mostly with the use of chemicals for
fertilizers and pesticides. The ejiditarios operate at the subsistence
level and simply cannot pay for needed chemical supplies. In contrast,
those private growers who have begun cultivation in the past twenty years
are willing to carry out the advice of agricultural agents. As a result,
their yields have increased to nearly the maximum expected from any

cacao orchard (Table 8).

132

The ejiditario and the piedmont small farmer obtained very much

 

the same results as shown in the table. The only difference between

the ejiditario and the coastal farmer is that neither made regular use

 

of fertilizers or insecticides, but the coastal plain private farmer
from the Soconusco and the northern farmer harvested nearly three times
as much cacao. The latter made regular use of pesticides and occasional
use of fertilizer. The slightly larger yield of the northern farmer
may have been a matter of chance for the year covered in Table 8. The
trees may have produced a larger number of fruit or the loss to disease
was smaller during that particular period. According to the farmers of
the northwest, it is not the usual result for they believe that the
soils are depleted and yields are decreasing each year.

Although the number of acres under cultivation has continued to
increase rapidly, further growth will be slight. The northwestern
region has nearly reached its probable maximum acreage. As the north
is decidedly cattle country, most cacao growers are more interested in
their herds than in cacao. In the Soconusco almost all available land
is under cultivation and to increase the acreage of cacao would require
that land be taken out of other crOps. It is unlikely that more than

a few farmers will be interested in doing so.

Bananas

Bananas are well adapted to physical conditions in Chiapas, but
have had an erratic history in the state. The northwestern region was
the first area in production, soon followed by the Soconusco. From the
beginning of cultivation in the 1920's until the 1940's, it was affected

by the changes in land tenure. By the late 1940's the cultivation in

133

the northwestern region had been virtually wiped out by plagues. From
that time to the present the only true commercial cultivation has been

in the Soconusco (Table 9).

TABLE 9

BANANA ACREAGE AND YIELD IN CHIAPAS
SINCE 1930a

 

-—
f

 

Year Acreage Ton/M Produced Ton/M136: Acre
1930 4,680 35,096 7.5b

1940 16,445 98,669 5.8b

1950 8,544 15,949 1.7

1960 367 1,530 4.2 (est.)
1970 5,765 21,618 3.8

1972 10,320 13,300 3.8

I /
aSecretaria de Agricultura y Ganaderia.

bIncludes all forms of bananas, cooking and finger, as well as
many whose size and shape and degree of ripeness would be rejected for
export under today's standards.

 

Unlike those of the northwestern area of the state, climatic con-
ditions of the Soconusco are not best suited to bananas. But, because
of demand during World War II, the United States purchased all of the
Soconusco bananas and later when that market was lost the Mexican
market absorbed them. Therefore, cultivation persisted in the Soconusco.
In 1960 a cyclone destroyed nearly all production, and in 1969 the har-
vest was lost through plagues and flooding. Many important banana

planters ceased Operation, but small farmers began cultivation and the

134

area planted to bananas expanded. By 1972 it exceeded 10,000 acres.
In the late 1960's the addition of irrigation partially alleviated the
harm caused by the dry season, and bananas have since become an increas—
ingly favored crop. The improvement is dramatic despite an apparent
reduction in average yield per acre. With irrigation, the commercial
banana growers expect to obtain from 120 to 190 metric tons per acre.
However, in the Soconusco, commercial growers control about one-half
of the banana plantings. The remainder is a combination of "kitchen
garden" groves and former commercial plantations which are no longer
cared for or regularly harvested. But, production by irregular har-
vesting is recorded and disguises the actual yield of commercially
grown bananas. Bananas offer promise in Chiapas, but are today a crOp

which only a few men cultivate successfully.

Cotton

Cotton was introduced as a commercial crop in Chiapas in the late
1950's.4 Acreage has increased steadily, although it has fluctuated
slightly by municipio. Some started to grow the crOp, then dropped it
when they found the crop unsuitable. Still others have started raising
cotton as a suitable commercial crop. In 1968 cotton was introduced
into a second area, the central zone. Although there are now 60,000
acres of cotton in the Soconusco, compared with 44,400 in the central
zone, the greatest potential for expansion lies in the latter. Both
the Soconusco and central zone face the immense and expensive problem
of plague control. Fluctuations in yield are ordinarily tied to the

success or failure of plague control measures. However, the decrease

 

4Secretaria de Agricultura y Ganaderia.

135

in yield for 1972 (Table 10) is an expression of an unexpected hazard
in the central region. For the first time in the memory of farmers in
the area, the rains failed and subsequent drought caused a loss of most

of the crOp.

 

 

 

TABLE 10
COTTON ACREAGE AND YIELD
IN CHIAPASa
Yield

Year Acreage Tons Produced Ton/M Per Acre
1961 40,596 29,160 .71
1966 54,562 35,013 .63
1970 62,165 54,643 .83
1972 92,400 38,500 .42

I , ./
aSecretaria de Agricultura y Ganaderia.

 

As cotton is the only crop grown under modern techniques, yields
in Chiapas have changed very little since the crOp was first introduced.
Methods of cultivation are specified by the government, and no variation
in techniques or results exist between the two regions. However, cotton
is a high cost crop in the tropics and has been successful in Chiapas
because of readily available credit. Without credit, cotton would not
have become a major commercial crop. Because of firm government control
the farmer's only choice in cotton cultivation is the decision whether
or not to grow it. All subsequent actions are directed by the govern-
ment and growers must agree to follow directions before they receive a

permit to plant. Failure of a farmer to carry out directions results

136

in loss of credit and permission to plant in the following year. The
absolute authority of the government, through the medium of credit, has

been the first instance of centralized control in Chiapanecan agricul-

 

ture. This, in effect, makes all the cotton lands of Chiapas into a
single operation. The farmer, by delegating his authority, has become
a foreman directing the work, rather than the decision maker. Such
control by government has not always been successful in other parts of
the world, and it remains to be seen if farmers will continue to favor

cotton as a major crop in Chiapas.

Obstacles to Further DevelOpment

 

Commercial farming cannot succeed without an infrastructure to
serve it. There are several successful commercial farming Operations
in Chiapas, but improvements in the institutions which serve the farmer

are needed before commercial cultivation can approach maximum deve10pment.

Communication

 

Among the media of communication, roads and railroads rank first
in importance for the farmer. Without them he has no means of sending
his products to market. Today, roads take precedence over railroads.
Roads represent a saving in time which Offsets higher transportation
costs. In many areas railroad service is not available. Chiapas is
serviced by slightly more than 2,000 miles of roads (Figure 10).
Unfortunately, less than half of the total mileage is paved (Table 11).
The graded gravel roads are considered passable all year by trucks and
the remainder are generally usable during the dry season only. Many
roads even during the dry season are passable by truck only. Two

paved roads, the Inter-American Highway and the coastal branch of the

137

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g ._,,iUf>uM\
Orgy” . \u .

n K

t \6¥3§

.v— 1

 

138

TABLE 11

TYPE OF ROADS IN CHIAPASa

 

 

 

Type of Road Length in Miles
Paved 730
Graded, tarred or gravel 260
Graded dirt 923
Unimproved dirt 206

aManuel Velasco Suarez, Segundo Informe del Gobierno,
1972.

 

same highway are the only east-west roads in the state. They serve as
major communication routes with the rest of Mexico, connecting outside
the state with roads leading to Oaxaca and Veracruz. The major prob-
lem within the state is the lack of north-south routes. In the south
the Sierra Madre forms a serious obstacle and as yet has been breached
only once. A single short paved road leads from the central highway
across the mountain chain to the coast on the western and lowest edge
of the mountains. Only footpaths cross the central and eastern Sierra
Madre. Another single road branches northward from the central Inter-
American Highway and goes to Pichucalco in the northwest, where it
joins a paved road to Villahermosa in the state of Tabasco. This is
the only road which ultimately connects the center of the state with
the Caribbean coast. Only thirty miles of this road are paved and

the remainder, about seventy miles, is graded and graveled in places.
However, it passes through the dense rainforest of the northern moun-

tains and in every ravine runs a turbulent mountain stream which washes

139

out the road. Repairing these sections is a continuous task and the
road is impassable for automobiles much of the time. Before the road
can be paved, at least ten or fifteen bridges must be constructed. Of
these, only one has been started and is near completion.

A second road turns north from the Inter-American Highway east of
San Cristdbal de las Casas, and passes through the mountains, but
through much easier, more Open terrain. It extends, however, only as
far as Tila and has not been cut through to the border of Chiapas and
Tabasco. None of the road is paved, and it has only recently been
graded and open all year for traffic. Two more roads are in the plan-
ning stage. One in the far northeast will connect that area with the
center of the state and will open a part of the Selva Lacandona for
settlement. The second will cross the eastern Sierra Madre and sim-
plify connections between the Soconusco and the central part of the
state. Plans for this road are not complete, and construction lies
far in the future because it will pass through the most difficult
terrain of the state. When completed, these roads will form needed
north-south arteries.

An improved secondary road system is also greatly needed.
Soconusco cotton and banana plantations are located within easy
access of primary roads, but few others are as well situated. Early
growers of cacao and coffee built their own feeder roads to connect
with the main roads. These are in use today but are unimproved, con-
sisting of a ribbon of track wide enough for a truck and kept clear
of undergrowth. Where these roads exist, a seventy-two hour trip may
be required to travel by truck as little as fifty miles. For the

small growers the problem is especially difficult. Unable to pay in

140

time or money to build a passable track, these farmers must bring their
coffee or cacao out by horses or mules and this can take a week or more
to accomplish. The lack of secondary roads has played a part in the
failure of banana redevelOpment in the northwest. Not only does the
paucity of roads hinder the transport of crOps to market, but it also
affects the quality of technical help the farmers, and particularly the

ejiditarios of the north and northwest, can expect to receive. Agri-

 

cultural agents cannot disseminate information rapidly if they are not
in close contact with the farmer. Nor can they assist him on site at
the precise time help is needed.

Two railroads traverse Chiapas, one across the north and one along
the southern coast. Completed in 1907, the coastal railroad was an
important factor in the deve10pment of Soconusco. But today less and
less use is made of the railroad, since shipping by truck is preferred.
In the northwest cacao area an almost total absence of roads has made
railroads important. However, this is satisfactory only because the
cacao is first sold to a chocolate processing factory. The factory
then ships large lots of the chocolate bricks to central Mexico. One
train per day each way is the normal schedule for the northern railway,
while on the coast trains move only when sufficient cargo, usually
cotton, is accumulated to make a load. Use of trains has decreased
since construction of the coastal branch of the Inter-American Highway,
and the new paved connections from Pichucalco to the main highway
crossing Tabasco will affect the use of trains in northern Chiapas.
Trains are less favored because Of the uncertain length of time needed
for cargos to reach their destination. Freight by truck reaches Mexico

City in twenty-four hours whereas by train the farmer never knows when

141

his freight will arrive at its destination. It may take from three
days to three weeks.

Air service has become an acceptable substitute for road transport
where poor roads exist, particularly in northern Chiapas. All towns of
importance have small airports suitable for use by one- or two-motor
planes. Businessmen habitually travel by air between towns. Moreover,
many of the ranches and ejidos in northern and eastern Chiapas have
airfields that are used to transport coffee to the regional markets.
Coffee is, however, the only crop transported by air, since the cost
is prohibitive for any others.

Telephone and telegraph service which could at times substitute
for face-to-face communication is possible only between larger towns.
The government is making every effort to extend these services to small
villages and ejidos, but at present over half of the communities in

Chiapas are without them.

Land Tenure

 

The changed structure of land tenure since the revolution of 1910
is not currently an obstacle to improved commercial agriculture, but
certain practices that have grown out of it do make progress less
rapid. Unlike those in many other areas of Mexico, the ejidos of
Chiapas are generally fertile and receive sufficient rainfall for
cultivation. Except for the plateau, the area is not overp0pulated,

and each ejiditario can expect to have an average of twenty to twenty-

 

five acres assigned to him. The obstacle lies in the operation of
most ejidos. On an individual basis, an entire family can barely

subsist on twenty-five acres. But, if the ejidos were Operated as

142

a single immense farm, an ejido could support its population in a
reasonable manner. Three successful co-Operative coffee-growing ejidos,
each one Operated as a single unit, have proved this. The government

encourages all attempts at co-Operative Operations, but the ejiditario's

 

pride in his own assigned acreage prevents, or at least delays, his
acceptance of the idea. Operating tiny individual farms with consequent

lack of available cash for improvements, ejiditarios are less responsive

 

to new ideas in crOps and techniques of cultivation. New ideas are
usually acceptable only when the customary crops have proven unsatis-
factory or, as in the case of cotton, the government provides credit
and dictates all operations in the cultivation.

Among private owners limitations on land holdings give rise to
many evasions. Theoretically, the land is in the hands of many small
farmers, but in reality much of the land is owned by large growers.

In coffee, for example, 735 acres is the maximum size of holding under
the law, but a single owner often operates as many as five or more
separate holdings of 735 acres. Titles are in the names of relatives
or friends and the true owner holds a bill of sale which, if necessary,
he can execute. The same occurs in the cotton lands of the Soconusco.
In 1971-72, approximately 2,200 permits were issued to plant cotton in
lots of 245 acres or less. Perhaps as many as one-third of these were
issued to a few men. While large land holdings in themselves are not
an obstacle to progress, they are often divided into separate parcels
located many miles apart and require the owner or manager to divide
his time between them instead of concentrating on a single large
holding. Local officials are well aware of the situation and ignore

it. It is not uncommon in general farming and ranching areas to have

143

first-class land classified as second or third class, thus increasing
the number of acres allowed to one owner. The resulting inaccuracy of
records, if done on a large scale, makes it difficult for government
officials to plan efficiently for future deve10pment of the state.
Also, the knowledge that under-the-table payment will permit contra-
vening of any law does not engender a healthy respect for government.
Ejidos present a problem in land tenure, both at present and for

the future. Chiapanecos consider the ejido as permanently established,

 

but what is not permanent are the limits of the ejido. Operated on an
individual basis, twenty-five acres or less is not enough land upon
which to support a family. If a large finca or ranch abuts the ejido,

and if the ejiditarios can prove the need for more land, the adjacent

 

land will be exprOpriated, even though the finca is within the legal

size for private holdings. Ejiditarios are always favored over large

 

landowners. Only the owner of twenty to fifty acres can hold his own

against the threat of the ejiditario's need. This has encouraged the

 

practice by large land holders of selling small plots on the outer
boundaries of the finca or ranch to their laborers. Putting a kind
of neutral zone of small owners between the ejigg_and the finga_has
become a safeguard to ensure the viability Of the finca,

The vulnerability of large fincas, particularly coffee fincas,
has given rise to a type of extortion racket. A group of twenty to
fifty men will move in during the night and settle on a $1232 and
try to claim it. The owner must then resort to the police and to the
courts to have them removed. These "parachutists," as they are called,
have never succeeded in retaining the land. In fact, they do not

intend to actually claim it, but they do have a nuisance value in the

144

owner's time and money. They usually show up during harvests when
their occupation is most expensive for the owner. By so doing they
hope to force the finguero to pay them to move out, rather than waste
time taking them to court.

Ejidos will present a serious obstacle to development in the
future. At present, few are older than forty years. First and second

generation ejiditarios are working the land. Already acreage is small,

 

and as children reach maturity and become entitled to assigned land,
individual plots will be further decreased. If no land is available
to enlarge the ejido, it will become so subdivided as to be totally

uneconomical.

Production Techniques

 

Production techniques in Chiapas vary from the oldest to the most
modern. Coffee and cacao cultivation involves the oldest methods and
cotton the most modern. With the exception of harvesting, cotton
planters make use of all the labor saving machinery and apply all of
the necessary chemical aids. None of this, however, do they do on
their own initiative. Rather, it is an example of modernity by
government decree.

In coffee, cacao, and to a large extent banana cultivation,
machinery cannot be used. Labor substitutes for machines because no
machines have been invented to take the place of labor on these crops.
Coffee and cacao are both grown under Shade as on the earliest planta-
tions. In the case of coffee, it is now known that shade actually
decreases yield. The average yield of export coffee grown under Shade

is approximately 500 pounds per acre, while without shade the yield is

14S

doubled. However, unshaded coffee requires the utmost in care and
knowledge as well as considerable expenditure for fertilizer and

pesticides. The same is true of cacao cultivation. On the other hand,
shade compensates for neglect and lack of knowledge. For this reason,

the technical experts advise the small planters and ejiditarios to

 

follow the older techniques.

Beyond the lack of technical knowledge and careful cultivation
techniques, the greatest Obstacle in improving commercial agriculture
is the erratic use, and Often total ignorance, of fertilizers and
pesticides. Lack of routine application is generally caused by
inability to pay for expensive chemicals. Until farmers are able to
obtain credit for needed improvements, this obstacle will remain as
one of the most critical.

In the case of cacao, a further obstacle exists. Until the
growers are willing to recognize the need for fermentation and sorting
of the beans by types, their cacao will continue to be unacceptable on
the international market. They will therefore have to compete for the

limited domestic market.

Credit

Credit is the single most important factor in establishing and
maintaining modern commercial agriculture, for which cash outlays for
machinery, fertilizers, and pesticides are high. CrOp yields must be
correspondingly high to cover the expenses and provide the family an
annual income.

Facilities for credit are well organized in Chiapas. They are a

combination of private banks and government credit agencies. Private

146

banks lend primarily to commercial businesses, to more important coffee
planters, and to livestock ranchers. On the other hand, government
credit offices are specifically established to serve all farmers, par-
ticularly the small ones who generally cannot obtain credit from private
banks. One of the five government credit agencies, the Banco Nacional
de Credito Ejidal, was established to assist ejidos only. However,
credit from this bank is offered to the entire ejidg_and not to indi-

vidual ejiditarios. The ejido and individual ejiditarios are not

 

 

restricted to this bank, but may apply to any bank for desired credit.

Although credit is theoretically available for all crops, in
reality it is granted only as short-term loans. Cattle and cotton
are the only things for which credit is abundant. For cotton, the
loan is payable after the harvest, and cattle loans must be repaid
within one year or a year and one-half. Banks are extremely reluctant
to advance funds which require long-term repayments or for crOps which
lack an assured market. Of the four crOps included in this study,
only cotton is grown under conditions of adequate credit. This is
partially because cotton is an annual crOp, but primarily because
the deve10pment of cotton has been entirely through intensive efforts
of the government and was based upon guaranteed credit.

Bananas are the only other crop studied which can be planted and
the harvest begun by the end of the first year. Nevertheless, banana
planters cannot obtain credit because they do not have guaranteed
contracts for sale of their crOp overseas. At present, a sufficiently
large inter-regional market exists for the sale of all bananas grown
in Chiapas, but with credit available the supply would rapidly increase

and flood the present market.

147

Credit is essentially non-existent for coffee and cacao cultivation.
For a few of the largest coffee planters credit can sometimes be obtained
in limited amounts from private banks. But, in the past such loans
often were not repaid and the banks had to take over and Operate the
plantations. This was a job they neither wanted nor were successful
in carrying out.

For the more modern cacao and banana plantations credit is usually
obtained indirectly. The planters have other assets, such as commercial
businesses or cattle ranches, for which they can obtain credit. The
credit is then applied to their cacao or banana groves. Without excep-
tion, planters using modern farming techniques do not depend upon their
cacao or banana groves for the major part of their incomes.

The need for credit for all agricultural products is recognized by
the government, and some plans have been made to make it available.

The Instituto Mexicano del Café’plans to allow small amounts of credit,
with the year's harvest as collateral for the small coffee farmers of
the northeast. Several meetings have been held between government
officials and cacao growers to discuss the credit needs of the growers.
Unfortunately, these plans are in the discussion stage with no actual

target date for their implementation.

Markets

As coffee is the most valuable commercial crOp, after more than
one hundred years of development, the market infrastructure is generally
well deve10ped. The planter has no difficulty in finding coffee
brokers, both private and government, to purchase his crop. The major

difficulty is in getting the crop to market over an inadequate road

148

system. The coffee brokers, by establishing a price range, have
provided an incentive for the planter to grow and prepare the best
quality beans. Even the government buyer, Beneficios Mexicanos,
purchases only export quality coffee. Moreover, the new soluble
coffee market has developed, using lesser quality beans which the
grower previously had difficulty in selling in any sizeable quantity.

The major marketing handicap for coffee planters is, of course,
the yearly international coffee agreements which regulate the amount
of coffee each nation may sell. These agreements on the whole bene-
fit growers by reducing extreme price fluctuations, but through the
medium of the Instituto Mexicano del Café’they sometimes prevent the
grower from obtaining a permit to sell all of his coffee harvest. In
particularly good years, growers are often left with a surplus which
they must either store for an indefinite period or sell for lower than
normal prices to buyers for the domestic market.

Very little Mexican cacao enters the international market for two
reasons: 1) the domestic market can absorb the entire supply, and
2) for technical reasons, Mexican cacao is not considered high in
quality. Until the supply is very much greater than the domestic
demand and an international outlet is sought for the surplus, or until
domestic buyers become more particular and refuse to purchase poor
quality cacao beans, the market situation is unlikely to change. At
present, facilities are adequate for buying and shipping the beans.
The greatest handicap to improved production is the rigid price struc—
ture. The government has a monopoly on the purchase of all raw beans,
and it, in turn, sells the beans to chocolate manufacturers. No com-

petitive interaction is permitted between growers and processors of

149

the raw product. A single price is declared at the beginning of the
year for each cacao-growing state. It will not rise or fall regardless
of the demand. However, the price does vary between states, according
to whether the government wishes to encourage or discourage cultivation
of the crOp. Chiapas cacao is not promoted. Growers in states such as
Oaxaca receive nearly double the price those of Chiapas receive. To
prevent growers from seeking better prices across state lines, all
cacao must be sold in the state where it is produced.

The rigid price structure also acts as an inhibitor to improvement
in the quality of beans. All beans, regardless of quality, are sold
for the same price. Should a graduated scale of prices be established,
growers would be more willing to recognize the need to ferment the beans
and grade them for size before selling them. If this were done, the
beans would be acceptable for purchase on the international market.5

Cotton, like cacao, is subject to a rigid government monopoly of

the market. All Chiapanecan cotton is sold on the domestic market with

 

the government as the single broker. Because the government instituted
and strictly regulates the cultivation of the crOp, there is no real
variation in quality and quantity from grower to grower. Also, because
the government is the buyer and provides all the credit for its culti-
vation, the crOp is, in effect, sold before it is in the ground. As
the crOp is harvested in the dry season, and the ginning mills serve
as storage depots, facilities are adequate for the market.

Bananas involve, perhaps, the most unstable market condition.

Except for the produce of two large growers, the national market absorbs

 

5Emilio Espafia Krauss, Los problemas del cacao en Mexicoysu
posible solucidh (Mexico, D. F.: By the Author, Noviembre de 1969),
p. 10.

 

 

150

the entire crop. There are no large, permanent buyers in Chiapas, and
no particular facilities or arrangements exist for collecting the fruit
for shipment. All growers must arrange to transport their own crap and
find their own buyers, usually retailers in Mexico City. While the
growers are few, and the domestic demand strong, the situation is satis-
factory and the growers make a profit. But it is admitted by all the
present planters that there is little room for expansion without a
permanent overseas market. For a number of years the suPply of fruit
has exceeded demand on the international market, and, barring a disaster
in another banana growing country or a more rapidly growing demand from
communist nations, the growers themselves do not foresee obtaining

contracts from overseas buyers.

Technical Assistance

 

A common obstacle in any developing area is the paucity of trained
agricultural agents. Chiapas is more fortunate than most such areas,
as the number and types of agricultural agents is rather high. The
Secretaria de Agricultura y Ganaderia has a minimum of thirty field
agents. Some are specialists in crops and others in livestock. The
Instituto Mexicano del Café’has an agent in each regional coffee-buying
area whose duties, in addition to inspecting the coffee before it can
be sold, include giving technical advice wherever needed. The insti-
tute also maintains several nurseries where planters can obtain healthy
and high yield varieties of seedlings. Unfortunately, the coffee
agents are not all full-time employees and do not reach many growers.
In the cotton regions, credit agencies maintain a staff of inspectors

whose duties include the provision of technical advice. The credit

151

agencies provide fertilizer and pesticide supplies, plus a few crop
epidemiologists whose knowledge is critically needed in high plague
areas such as Chiapas. Despite the large number of highly skilled
experts, more are needed for the entire state. They are heavily
concentrated in the best deve10ped areas and very scarce in the areas
which, in some ways, need their help the most. Other than cotton
growers, the majority of farmers interviewed stated that they had

never received help from any agricultural agent in any form.

CHAPTER VII

THE FUTURE OF COMMERCIAL AGRICULTURE IN CHIAPAS

Since the initial decline of agricultural productivity in the late
1920's which accompanied the restructuring of land ownership in Mexico,
growth in the agricultural sector has been steady. More land has been
put under cultivation and yields, particularly those of corn and wheat,
have increased. Mexican agricultural exports now exceed minerals or
manufactured goods. Today, less than 50 percent of the population is
engaged in agriculture.1 Although oxen and wooden plows remain in
common use, machinery is substituted for them in areas of commercial
farming. Subsistence farmers are selling some of their crOps for cash
and gradually converting themselves into commercial farmers. With the
rise of commercial agriculture there has been an increased recognition
of the need for chemical fertilizers and pesticides. But, recognition
of need cannot be equated with application, for few have the means to
pay or the knowledge to use them. Lack of knowledge is partially com-
pensated for by technical assistance from agricultural agents. The
number of these specialists, mostly graduates of the flourishing
agricultural colleges in Mexico, is increasing rapidly but many more
are needed. Most of the growth in agriculture is found in the peri-

pheral states, as the government has invested large sums in deve10pment

 

1Direccidn General de EstadiSticas, "Censo de poblacidn de 1970."
(Mimeographed)

152

153

and particularly in irrigation. Credit and technical assistance have
been made available for specialized crops which the government favors.
Although the government encourages agricultural development in the
state, Chiapas has not received such huge capital investments for irri-
gation as are provided to northern desert areas. The central zone and
Pacific coastal plain in particular would benefit from irrigation.
With a dependable source of water two crops a year could be grown.
Moreover, yields of the present summer crops would improve because the
average rainfall in the area is less than Optimum. Due to the moun-
tainous character of the state, the land has been divided into numerous
small cultivatable areas. This has led to a program of small projects
which benefit single communities, or at most micro regions, rather than
major agricultural projects. Emphasis is placed on the deve10pment of
special commercial crOps, such as cotton. With the growing emphasis on
a cash economy and with the technical assistance of agricultural agents,
true subsistence farming, even among the Indian groups of the plateau,
is slowly being converted to commercial agriculture. Although the
conversion is occurring, future growth will require the use of modern
techniques. At present all farmers are willing to use fertilizers and

pesticides, but the small farmers and ejiditarios lack the financial

 

resources to purchase them. Hence, such needed adjuncts to commercial
agriculture are seldom used.

Including subsistence cropland, about 1,800,000 acres are under
cultivation in the state. Perhaps as much as 200,000 acres have been
cultivated since prehistoric times, while the remainder has been added
as the population increased and as commercial crOps became important.

Drainage of the Soconusco coastal plain added nearly 60,000 acres of

154

generally unused scrubland in the late 1950's and early 1960's. In the
future any additional land to be put under cultivation will come from
two possible sources: 1) At present approximately 4,000,000 acres of
unimproved pasture are used to feed the cattle population of Chiapas.
Some could be used for food crops. 2) In the Selva Lacandona over
2,500,000 acres are suitable for crOpping, but are now completely
undeveloped. Despite the availability of new lands, most efforts of
the government are directed toward the improvement of presently

cultivated land.

The Four Crops of the Study

 

Coffee, cacao, bananas, and cotton are four of the most important
commercial crOps in Chiapas. Together, they account for nearly 30
percent of the cultivated land, and harvests are valued at $121,500,000.
The four crops alone provide more than 50 percent of the value of all
agricultural products in the state. The continued cultivation of these
crops on a commercial scale appears certain. However, with new crOps
being added to those already commercially cultivated, changes should

be expected in the patterns of production.

Coffee
Coffee is the preferred export crop in Chiapas and therefore has

a secure place in Chiapanecan agriculture. However, some changes are

 

needed. Acreage will decrease by 20,000 to 25,000 acres, and production
techniques will be improved (Table 12).

Although a few hundred acres of good but unused coffee land may
still be found in scattered parcels, officials of the Instituto Mexicano

del Cafe’believe that almost all the best coffee lands are now in use.

155

TABLE 12

CLASSIFICATION OF COFFEE ACREAGEa

 

 

 

Classification of Land Number of Acres
Adequate 261,000
Marginal:

Soils 7,000

Rainfall 20,000 27,000

Total 288,000

aPersonal Interview with Ing. Manuel Garcia E. of
Instituto Mexicano del Cafe] November, 1972.

 

Future adjustments in acreage will depend upon the program developed by
Mexico, in accordance with the international coffee agreements. Through-
out the country the Instituto Mexicano del Cafe'has worked to reduce
fluctuations in the two-year cycle of yield, restrict coffee to the
best lands, and build the domestic coffee market. In Chiapas, the
national program has encouraged expansion into new lands and, where
coffee has long been grown, the replacement of older trees with
improved strains. With the recent addition of lowland coffee for the
soluble market, this phase is concluded. The Instituto intends to
continue working toward improved yields through the deve10pment of
higher yielding trees and expanded use of fertilizers. Only 15,000
acres are adequately fertilized today, mostly in the newest areas of
lowland Robusta coffee. Other than increased use of fertilizers and

pesticides, no changes are eXpected in the methods of cultivation.

156

Despite the increase in yield when coffee is grown without shade,
officials do not advocate widespread adoption of this method. While
yields are lower in shade grown coffee, this method is more tolerant
of poor management and is more suitable for small farmers. And having
been successful in the past the important fingueros are not always
receptive to changes demanding more time and attention as does coffee
grown without shade.

As yields improve, a gradual reduction of acres planted to coffee
can be expected. But, until substitute crOps are fOund for marginal
coffee land, this reduction will be slow. Most of it will occur in
the western half of the central zone where rainfall is minimal for
coffee. In a small way, this reduction has already started. Many
owners of small- to medium-size fincas are also cattle ranchers.
Finding cattle more profitable, a few have already destroyed coffee
trees to extend their pasture land. Another area of marginal coffee
soil lies in the north, but lack of satisfactory substitute crops
makes it unlikely the area will be altered for many years.

A further change will come in the labor pattern. Extra harvest
hands will always be needed, but owners are already reducing the num-
ber of permanent workers. Government regulations for the welfare of
permanent employees have become more stringent, and in some instances
fingueros have difficulty satisfying these requirements. Owners must
provide a school and a teacher for children living on the finca, The
owners often cannot find qualified teachers as most prefer to join
school systems which offer greater permanence and more substantial
benefits. Social security and labor taxes must be paid in addition

to workers' salaries. In the view of the fingueros, the solution lies

157

in decreasing the permanent work force. Reduction of permanent labor
has been carried to an extreme in the northern region, which to some
extent forces neglect of the coffee trees and reduces yields. On the
other hand, growers of the Soconusco maintain large numbers of employees
and substitutes for hand labor have been few. A small Japanese tractor,
used to spread beans on the drying patio, replaces four to six men on
one finca, and on another one man with a back-pack power sprayer does
the work of three to four men in clearing undergrowth. Changing the
old system of payment for area picked to payment for weight of ripe
fruit picked per tree encourages fast picking, ultimately reducing the

number of harvest hands needed.

Cacao

 

The future of cacao in Chiapas is uncertain. Most of the growers
are not dedicated cacao planters, and the market, although stable, is not
one which brings great profit to the growers. The planters are of two

types: 1) ejiditarios and small farmers who lack the financial resources

 

to care for their trees with modern, but expensive, techniques and

2) ranchers and growers who produce cacao as only one of several sources
of income. These men can and do apply scientific methods of cultivation
and have consequently caused the average yield per acre in Chiapas to

double. In comparison with small farmers or ejiditarios they obtain

 

more than triple the harvest. They are also responsible for the increase

in acres cultivated and the increased tonnage of beans sent to market.
Cacao is cultivated on nearly 100,000 acres of land. The total

acreage suitable for cacao has never been precisely calculated, but it

probably could be increased at least four times. Nevertheless, little

158

further increase in acreage can be expected. Nearly every interested
rancher in the northern zone has planted a few acres of cacao. None

of the ranchers interviewed evidenced any intention of planting more.
In the Soconusco new cacao orchards on the coastal plain compete with
cotton for space, and under present conditions little expansion in

this area is expected. The ejiditarios of the piedmont have been

 

unable to eXpand or improve their orchards, but they can be expected
to maintain them and harvest the fruit. Improvements in their groves
will be slow.

The cacao market in Mexico operates under a fixed price system
which maintains a reasonable balance between SUpply and demand. Until
supply exceeds the domestic demand, international markets may be desir-
able but not necessary. The international market is unstable, fluctu—
ating from month to month and even from day to day. A single rumor,
such as that one transport ship has failed to meet a contract and hence
decreased available supplies, is sufficient to start action among the
buyers to send the prices up. The reverse is also true; rumors of
surplus will send prices plummeting down. Prices are also influenced
by the supply of cacao from Africa, where production has greatly
increased in the past decade. Should the cacao growers of Chiapas be
granted the Opportunity to seek international markets, several changes
would have to be made before their cacao would be of competitive
quality. Improvements in the method of processing the beans after
harvest would be essential as would grading for size and kind. Failure
to secure a foothold in the export market would quickly reduce cacao
cultivation because the major part of the supply comes from ranchers

interested in several forms of agriculture. If their cacao became

159

unprofitable, they would not hesitate to destroy their groves in favor
of other, more stable products.

The stability of cacao cultivation, then, depends upon a fixed
price and sufficient demand. If these prerequisites change, and they
can readily, cacao growers will soon reSpond. Under present conditions
the spread of cacao should slow and stabilize at somewhere near 100,000

acres. Should the government decide to favor Chiapanecan cacao over

 

that of other states by either raising the price per pound or subsi-
dizing the farmers with credit for fertilizers and pesticides, a rapid
increase in cacao acreage would occur. If, on the contrary, the govern-

ment lowered the price, the acreage would immediately decline.

Bananas

The future of bananas is even less certain than that of cacao.
Although the present market is primarily domestic, demand is strong
and steadily increasing to satisfy the needs of the growing population
of urban Mexico. But the demand is met by production from Tabasco.
The two regions in Chiapas are tolerated because they can be useful,
but are not necessary to satisfy present demand. The northern region
exists because of its proximity to Tabasco and the ease of including
its yield with the Tabascan for shipping. The small Soconusco region
is successful because of modern techniques, satisfactory roads, and
planters who transport their own product to market. Both regions
are capable of expansion, but present conditions do not encourage
further growth.

Real deve10pment is closely related to specific contracts in

international trade, but no foreign buyers will offer contracts unless

160

many thousands of stems of bananas can be guaranteed on a weekly basis.
Without contracts, credit is not forthcoming. Expansion of the area
under banana cultivation will be slight, because of competition from
other crOps or livestock.

Despite the present lack of foreign markets and uncertain prospects
of securing them in the future, the Soconusco planters and their associ-
ation seem alert to all activity in the international trade. They have
calculated the precise savings in time their location has over other
banana growing regions. They know the weather conditions and estimated
production of most world banana regions. They seem optimistic about
securing contracts. In this, government planners concur as reflected
in plans for the new port in the Soconusco which include loading docks
and expensive equipment specifically designed for banana cargoes.
Growers are especially optimistic that they may be able to gain a
market in the centrally planned nations. They do not expect this
market to materialize in the next few years, but definitely sometime
in the next decade or so. Meanwhile, they intend to continue selling

bananas to the market in Mexico City.

Cotton

Cotton is the only commercial cr0p in Chiapas completely subsidized
by the government. Expansion has been rapid. The preferred land in
the Soconusco is now under cultivation, and the area has stabilized at
60,000 acres. Growth in the central cotton zone is intended to proceed
more slowly. The central zone is eXpected to add another 60,000 acres
before expansion ceases, although it contains nearly double that amount

of land suitable for cotton.

161

A difference in the attitude of the farmers exists between the two
regions. In the Soconusco, farmers seem to feel they have found an
endless supply of white gold. They contemplate no end to cotton growing.
While the farmers of the central zone accept cotton, they do not expect
to have it dominate their lives. The difference in attitude may evolve
from the difference in land. Since the advent of cotton, land value in
the Soconusco has risen to $250 per acre. Before, it was nearly value-
less scrub forests and pastures. Although the land can produce other
export crOps, without government aid the farmers did not attempt other
commercial agriculture. For them it has been cotton or nothing. The
men of the central zone were not so restricted, since commercial agri-
culture with a variety of crops was already established. For them
cotton is but one of several Options.

As long as a strong domestic market for cotton exists and Japan
continues to be an important buyer of Mexican cotton, conditions will

remain much the same. However, Chiapanecan cotton is a high-cost crOp,

 

and the government may not always be willing to finance it. The
Soconusco region would then produce little cotton, while cultivation
in the central zone would continue. Even in the central zone the
number of acres in cotton would probably be reduced.

With the farmers accustomed to government credit for a special
crop, all aid could not be discontinued without causing serious unrest
in the Soconusco. Therefore it is probable that if cotton were no
longer subsidized by the government, aid would be shifted to other

short-term crOps.

162

Other Commercial Crops

 

Commercial agriculture includes crops other than coffee, cacao,
bananas, and cotton. Some have promise for the future. Most promising
for the future are crOps that have been grown under subsistence agri-
culture for many decades. Part of the present commercial acreage is
cultivated by the transitional subsistence farmer, and part is grown

by the full-time commercial farmer (Table 13).

 

 

 

TABLE 13
LESSER COMMERCIAL CROPS
1971-1972a
Production
Crop Acres /Tons Value

Rice 16,800 28,600 $1,875,000
Sugar Cane 10,327 603,262 2,399,338
Avocado 2,671 26,400 7,500,000
Yucca (Industrial) 2,275 51,920 590,000
African Oil Palm 720 990 281,250

aSecretari‘a de Agricultura y Ganaderia.

 

African oil palm is cultivated by a single rancher, but it has
proved so successful that agricultural agents are anxious to encourage
further plantings. It is estimated that from 12,000 to 24,000 acres
have excellent soil and humidity conditions for the trees. Small
farmers can successfully enter this field, providing a processing
plant is available to extract oil and credit is available for the
first few years. African oil palms, like coffee, require several

years before full fruiting occurs and the trees can be regularly

163

harvested. Credit, therefore, will be needed to assist the small
farmers for the first few years.

Unlike coffee land which the small farmer can claim from the
wilderness, good palm oil land is found only on the Pacific coastal
plain area already occupied by cattle. To convert the land from high-
profit livestock raising will require credit. As banks, government
and private, are unwilling to give long-term credit, a Special devel-
Opment program will be needed to provide such aid to the farmers.
Otherwise, no expansion will occur.

Yucca has been a part of subsistence agriculture in the state
for centuries, but grown for industrial purposes it has proven valu-
able only in the past two or three decades. It competes successfully
with cotton, but at present its cultivation is located in the single
municipio of the Soconusco in which no cotton is grown. Cotton was
tried there and the land proved satisfactory, but yucca was the
preferred crop. A small factory, located near the fields, processes
it into a white glue. At present, demand is not sufficient to require
increased acreage, but cotton lands could be converted should the
demand increase. Yucca is less costly to produce than cotton, even
when modern techniques are used. Because yucca, like cotton, is
harvested the first year it is planted, credit should be relatively
easy to obtain when expansion is needed.

Rice is still raised mostly by traditional methods in Chiapas,
but 3,600 acres now are cultivated by commercial farmers with the aid
of fertilizers, pesticides, and some machinery. Commercial rice is
sold within the state, as rice is a daily staple in the diet of the

Chiapanecos. The state is now self-sufficient in production, but

 

164

demand will rise with increased population. Land good for rice could
be converted from other crops, and as demand is growing, commercial
rice cultivation will increase extensively in the next few years.

Sugar cane has been grown in Chiapas by subsistence farmers. The
brown panela or unrefined sugar has been a regular part of the
diet. Today, due to extensive research by the agricultural eXperi-
mental station, and the use of the cane for rum, more than 8,000 acres
under cane cultivation benefit from fertilizers and pesticides. Yields
are high, exceeding 500 tons per acre. Many locations in the state
have proved satisfactory for sugar cane, but new areas are likely to
be numerous, small in extent, and dispersed throughout Chiapas.
Increased concentration may occur in the northeast, as Opposed to
the central valley where sugar cane is now predominant.

Avocados are particularly successful in Chiapas and are being
raised experimentally by a few commercial farmers. They are grown
in the central portion of the Pacific coastal plain, just west of the
cotton regions. The farmers are either converting pastures or taking
land out of cacao to plant avocados. Commercial cultivation is minor,
since most of the avocados are harvested from kitchen gardens. At
present, Chiapas absorbs most of the yield and only a minor volume is
sent to Mexico City. Demand is strong in the regional market and an
international market is develOping, particularly in the United States.
This crop should become increasingly pOpular with commercial farmers,
and in the future micro regions of avocado cultivation are likely to
develOp throughout the state.

As throughout Mexico, corn is the most important crop in Chiapas.

More than 950,000 acres throughout the state are planted each year, of

165

which 150,000 acres are cultivated by commercial farmers. Yields have
increased, and well over a million tons per year have been harvested.
Government storehouses reduce the loss to rodents, and over two-thirds
of the crOp of Chiapas is surplus corn for sale. Undoubtedly more of
the acreage under subsistence corn crOps will be converted to commercial
production in the future. With higher yields from modern techniques,
less acreage will be needed for the crOp. Yet, corn will continue to
dominate the agriculture of Chiapas for many years.

Livestock occupies most of the forested and scrub land in Chiapas.
Ranchers have been active in upgrading the quality of their cattle,
but, as in most tropical areas, they do not supplement the grass diet
of their animals with grain. Beyond an initial sowing of seed, pastures
are unimproved. As commercial farmers require more land, pasture is
likely to be reduced and owners will be forced to use other forms of
feed to maintain their herds. The cattle population will always remain
large, but most of it will be concentrated in the northeastern areas,

where waterlogged soils offer fewer opportunities for crOps.

Government Activities

 

Every two years an agricultural plan is established for each state
in Mexico. The plan indicates the condition of the land, the crOps grown,
and improvements to be made. Included is the percentage of improvement
desired. Lacking are directions to implement the planned improvements.
Each state deve10ps these for itself. In reality, the efforts of many
government agencies are united in the effort to improve agriculture.

Agents from the Secretaria de Agricultura y Ganaderia have great-

est contact with the farmer. Much of their work is directed toward

166

improvement of cotton, corn, and livestock. These men are usually
graduates of the agricultural schools. Unfortunately, they envision
rapid improvements through massive application of chemicals, use of
better seeds and machinery, rather than through small improvements
over a period of time. All of the big improvements depend upon credit,
which is not always available. Their future work will follow much the
same pattern but include the organization and Operation of new small
irrigation projects.

In conjunction with the Secretaria de Recursos Hidraulicos,
agricultural engineers are planning and working on a series of water
control projects. A completed part of this plan is the drainage
system for the Soconusco coastal plain, which permitted the develop-
ment of cotton cultivation in that area. Future projects are designed
to provide irrigation water in semi-arid areas, drain water-logged
areas, and provide flood control for valuable agricultural lands.
Sixteen or seventeen projects are planned, and one in the Cuxtepeque
region at San Vicente is already completed (Figure 11). They are all
designed to develOp irrigation systems and in some instances help con-
trol flooding, as in the Comitan project. Two drainage systems similar
to that of the Soconusco are also planned. One is adjacent to the
present Soconusco area, and the other is at the extreme western end
of the coastal plain near Arriaga. These improvements will involve
as much as 200,000 acres. Some projects are being implemented for
the near future, and others are planned. If all are eventually con-
structed, the coastal areas will be deve10ped for specialty crOps.

However, no indication is yet given as to what these crOps will be.

167

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168

Two immense electrical projects are also in progress. While the
intent is to benefit the nation, Chiapas will receive both direct and
indirect benefits. The Grijalva project is basically to provide elec-
tric power for central Mexico, but from the second stage, the Angostura
Dam and reservoir, water will be diverted to irrigate 2,500 acres of
the central depression. The dam will also prevent the frequent flood-
ing of valuable agricultural land in the Grijalva valley.

Yet another project is the construction of a deep water port,
Puerto Madero. When completed, the facilities will accommodate any
size vessel in two deep bays and include a sheltered shipping canal
along most of the coast of Chiapas. The port will be equipped to
handle any form of agricultural product in the state and is designed
to encourage the development of light manufacturing in the area.
Facilities for this manufacturing, which includes food processing,
wood working and production of small objects such as electrical parts,
will be constructed near the docks. Except for the state capital,
Tuxtla Gutierrez, the small amount of existing manufacturing in the
state is located on the Pacific coastal plain and particularly in the
city of Tapachula. The new industry which the port is expected to
attract will be complimentary, or essentially the same as that which

is now found in the area.

Prospect

Commercial agriculture in Chiapas is based upon large regions of
coffee, cacao, and cotton, with micro regions of other crOps (Figure 12).
Changes will depend upon an improved road system, deep water port, and

various soil and water conservation measures which are now under

 

169

 

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170

construction or in the planning stage. With irrigation water available
from numerous streams, deep-water port facilities in Operation, and a
food-processing industry developing in Puerto Madero and Tapachula, the
agricultural land of the Soconusco will become too valuable to remain
in cotton. The cotton region will decrease in acreage and migrate
westward along the coast (Figure 12). The Soconusco will become an
area of tropical fruit cultivation. In the United States and Europe,
especially, the market for citrus, mangos, avocados, pineapples, and
other fruits is growing. Increased banana acreage can be expected on
the extreme western edge of the Soconusco and perhaps along the eastern
border. Cacao in piedmont areas will disappear in favor of fruits.

In the western Pacific coastal area, land devoted to grazing will
decrease, although the number of cattle may not. Remaining pastures
will have improved grasses capable of feeding increased numbers. In
the area to be drained near Arriaga, land will be available for truck
crops and sugar cane. As the sugar cane lands of the Isthmus of
Tehuantepec are not far away, cane cultivation is especially likely
to expand.

Decrease in coffee acreage is eXpected in the western portion of
the central coffee zone, where beef and dairy cattle are already begin-
ning to replace coffee. However, as population increases, the demand
for milk and milk products will increase. This area is a logical place
for development of dairying, and small ventures are already flourishing.
The present dairy herds serve local demand. Growth will depend upon
improved reads. A central location permits the area to serve both the
Soconusco and central depression. Coffee will remain the favored crOp

of the eastern Sierra Madre.

171

Corn, beans, and cotton will continue to predominate in the central
depression. Cotton acreage will increase as irrigation becomes avail-
able, and total acreage will overshadow that of the Pacific coastal zone.
For soil improvement, as well as for oil, soybeans will form an impor-
tant part of crop rotation. The rice and SUgar cane already grown on a
minor scale in the area will remain, improved in yield through ferti-
lizers and insecticides. But these crops are not likely to increase
in acreage, as the land is the best in Chiapas for cultivation of corn
and beans.

In the western portion of the central plateau, the trend toward
truck gardening will intensify. The land is unsatisfactory for exten-
sive cultivation of grains, other than those presently grown as sub-
sistence crops. But the area is already benefitting by the small
amount of truck crops grown there. The Indians of the plateau will
become suppliers of mid-latitude fruits and vegetables for the state.
Fruit trees, now grown in kitchen gardens and in the future as hill-
side orchards, will replace subsistence corn. The plateau will also
increasingly supply small animals, chickens, and pigs. Sheep will
continue to graze on the mountain pastures.

In the northern region, coffee and cacao will continue to be
cultivated by ranchers whose main interest lies in cattle. In the
northwestern horn of the state, where oil has been discovered, cattle
are the primary source of income. They will remain important, but
along the roads which will be built to bring out the oil, more truck
farming is expected to develop. But truck crOps will be marketed in
the flourishing city of Villahermosa, in Tabasco, rather than in

Chiapas. In the northeast, sugar cane will again be planted in the

172

valleys too low for coffee, although cattle will continue to flourish
on the wet pasture lands.

La Selva Lacondona will be the last to be deve10ped, and, as the
potential of the territory remains speculative, it is difficult to
predict the future of the area. Coffee is planted on the northwestern
fringe, and cattle are raised to the north. Coffee and cattle-raising
will expand at first, but as the area has many fertile river valleys
almost any crop not requiring a long dry season could flourish there
when population pressure forces deve10pment of the land.

All of the foregoing predictions are based on activities now in
progress or in the planning stage. It would be useless to assume that
all farmers of the state will become progressive commercial cultivators.
Chiapas will always have some farmers who barely eke out a living on
their land, but the potential for model development of highly valuable
commercial cultivation is there. A major part of that potential could

be achieved within the next few decades.

CHAPTER VIII

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS

A change from subsistence agriculture to commercial cultivation is
imperative for many tropical nations. A land-use study of a tropical
region where commercial agriculture has been develOping with government
aid for cotton only could indicate conditions favorable to the growth of
commercial agriculture in tropical regions generally. Moreover, the
patterns of Operation in that region may reflect needed changes and give
a basis upon which the future of commercial agriculture can be predicted.

Chiapas, Mexico, was selected as the location for such research.

Summary

Literature and official statistics on land use in Chiapas are
scant, so most of the research was directed toward observation of the
area and interviews with men actively engaged in commercial agriculture.
The study was centered on procedures and techniques in the cultivation
of coffee, cacao, bananas, and cotton as these were considered impor-
tant export crOps which could be used as indicators for all commercial
agriculture.

Physical conditions of the land in Chiapas are similar to those of
many other trOpical regions. Orogenic forces had been active, leaving
a landscape of two mountain regions, a central depression, and two

coastal plains. The northern mountain range has three divisions: a

173

174

Central Plateau and a folded mountain area to the north and east which
is divided into two sections, the Northern and Eastern Mountains.

These major features separate the state into seven physiographic sub-
regions which provide a basis for research, as the various commercial
crops are located in specific physiographic divisions. As a whole,
Chiapas is trOpical with rainy summers from June to November and dry
winters from December to May. Total rainfall is greatest in the moun-
tains and declines to the minimum needed for cultivation in the Central
Depression. The coastal lowlands of the north are under the influence
of the Caribbean year-around rainy climate, but the Pacific Coastal
Plain has a pronounced wet summer and dry winter climate. Where level
land exists, soils are generally fertile, particularly in the south-
east where volcanic ash is mixed into the alluvium of the coastal
plain. Along with two of the largest rivers in Mexico, the Grijalva
and Usumacinta, many smaller rivers drain the land and offer deve10pment
possibilities.

Cultural patterns of the state correspond to the physiographic
divisions. The pOpulation is 30 percent Indian, perhaps 5 to 10 per-
cent of unmixed European ancestry, and the majority mestizos or ladinos.
Indians are located almost entirely in the less accessible areas of the
plateau and northern mountains, while the mestizos and Europeans occupy
the best agricultural lands of the coastal plains and Central Depression.
Commercial agriculture and, in fact, all business of the state is in the
hands of the latter groups.

Agriculture is the important source of livelihood. Most of what
little industry exists is based upon food processing. Minerals have

been almost unknown, except that in the past few years petroleum has

175

been discovered in the extreme north of the state and two fields have
been brought into production. More recently, the government has
announced the discovery of exploitable copper deposits. A primarily
rural economy has limited the number of cities to three: Tuxtla
Gutierrez, Tapachula, and San Cristdbal de las Casas. While other
towns have pOpulations of 2,500 or more, they remain rural in char-
acter and lack most urban amenities.

Coffee, cacao, bananas, and cotton are four of the most valuable
crops in Chiapas. However, they were developed for markets outside
the state and are to a large extent the preferred crops of commercial
farmers. Due to the pronounced physiographic divisions of the state,
each of the four crops is found in two or three distinct regions.
These contrasts are sometimes in the emphasis placed upon the cr0p
and at other times differences in techniques of production.

Coffee has been successfully cultivated in Chiapas for more than
one hundred years. The state now produces the largest portion of
Mexico's coffee, which is 40 percent. Coffee is restricted to moun-
tain areas. The southern region is one of full-time coffee planters,

both private and ejiditario. Their livelihood comes solely from coffee.

 

In the northern area coffee and cattle share the land of the private

owners, while the ejiditarios raise both coffee and subsistence crOps.

 

The central region is a blend of both. Some growers have only coffee,
while others have cattle and coffee.

Although cacao has been cultivated in the state for many centuries,
it is one of the least successful crops. Cash returns are so slight

that, even among the ejiditarios, no single grower cultivates only

 

cacao. In the southern or Soconusco region the ejiditarios, who

 

176

produce most of the region's cacao, also grow subsistence crops. The
private growers obtain most of their income from coffee, bananas,
cotton, livestock, or any combination of these. In the northwestern

region cacao growers are also cattle ranchers. Ejiditarios encouraged

 

by agricultural agents to discontinue cacao cultivation are destroying
their trees and replacing them with cattle.

Bananas, theoretically, are grown in two regions. The northwest
was the earliest, but because of plagues banana cultivation was nearly
wiped out. Today fewer than 2,500 acres of commercial bananas are
grown in the region. Even the Soconusco, following severe storm
damage in 1961-1962, nearly ceased to be a banana growing region.

But with cultivation primarily by a few private farmers, it is experi-
encing a comeback. The region is small, but has the advantage of an
irrigation-drainage system recently constructed by the government.

The growers have deve10ped their own markets and provide their own
transportation. These men receive good prices for their bananas in
Mexico City. Success has given them a somewhat Optimistic view of

the future of banana cultivation in Chiapas. They expect continued,
although slow, growth in production.

Cotton cultivation is subsidized and strictly regulated by the
government. Cotton is the only crOp grown successfully by both

ejiditario and private owners, following modern techniques. Two

 

regions, the Soconusco and the central depression, are well suited
to its cultivation. Soconusco farmers concentrate strictly on com-
mercial agriculture, and the result is a broad region of cotton
monoculture. On the other hand, farmers of the central zone are

successful commercial growers of corn, beans, and livestock. Unlike

 

177

Soconusco growers, they view cotton as an additional crOp, rather than
the only possible one. Cotton is planted on one-fourth to one~half of

their acreage. This is also true for the ejiditarios.

 

Several other crops are commercially grown in Chiapas. Corn, rice,
and African palm oil are among these. All could be eXpanded, but gen-
erally at the expense of other crOps. Growth will depend primarily
upon market conditions.

Production techniques vary from antiquated to the most modern.

In Chiapas, coffee cultivation follows older techniques. Varieties of
Arabica, the first commercial variety, are the most pOpular and are
grown under shade without the aid of fertilizers or pesticides.
Harvesting requires large numbers of temporary laborers who come from
the Indian lands of the plateau and from Guatemala. The Soconusco pro-
duces the most coffee and also accounts for the greatest number of
employees, both temporary and permanent. Toward the north, labor
becomes progressively more difficult to obtain. As a consequence,
growers in the central region hire fewer men than those of the Soconusco.
Those of the northern region employ even fewer laborers for year-around
work and for harvesting. Coffee markets are well developed. Growers
have their choice of processing the coffee to the final stage and
selling in the international market or partially processing their
harvest and selling the beans to coffee brokers who, in turn, sell
overseas. The greatest problem lies in transporting the coffee from
farm to market centers, as the secondary road system is very poor.

Cacao has been raised for centuries in Chiapas but has become
less attractive, despite an increasing number of acres under cultiva-

tion. Most of the cacao is cultivated by two types of farmers:

178

the ejiditario who lacks capital and cannot purchase the necessary

 

chemicals to increase his yields, and the cattle rancher who cultivates
cacao as a minor crop. Financially secure as a result of cattle
profits, the ranchers apply chemical fertilizers and pesticides and
have correspondingly raised their yields. Cacao is harvested all year,
and consequently no seasonal labor is needed despite the fact that all
work is done by hand. As is true of coffee, transporting cacao to
market is a problem in the north where the road system is particularly
poor. Since processing the harvested beans does not include needed

fermentation, Chiapanecan cacao is not sold internationally. Instead,

 

it is all sold to the government which in turn sells it to domestic
chocolate producers.

Banana cultivation is now minimal in Chiapas. The major region
is within the Soconusco, where the cultivators practice modern tech-
niques. However, there is insufficient water for irrigation during
the dry season. The bananas are sold by individual growers who estab-
lish their own outlets and are responsible for transporting the crop
to market. Future expansion of the region depends upon improvement in
ocean transport facilities, which will come with the completion of a
deep water port now under construction and the development of overseas
markets.

The Pacific Coastal Plain and the Central Depression are well
suited to cotton cultivation, and under government auspices more than
90,000 acres have been planted. All aspects of cotton cultivation are
dictated by the government, which uses permits to plant and credit as
the instruments of control. Because of land tenure laws, Soconusco

farmers rarely plant more than 240 acres. Farmers of the central zone

179

have more acreage available, but they, too, generally plant not more
than 240 acres. The tropical location makes disease the greatest handi-
cap, and without credit it is unlikely that farmers could grow this
crOp. The use of machinery for all activities has reduced the need for
a large labor force, except during harvest. Then, about 25,000 extra
laborers are hired. Transportation of the cotton to ginning mills is
the responsibility of the farmer, but distances are generally short.

The cotton is sold at the mill, and the government mills then transport
the seeds and the lint to the north. Trucks are favored over rail
because time saved offsets the lower cost of rail transportation.

The four crOps of the study have had periods of prosperity and
depression. Coffee and cacao acreage has expanded, particularly in the
past three decades, to the point where continued expansion is unlikely.
Coffee yields have generally increased despite the lack of chemical
inputs, and even greater yields can be expected if fertilizers and
pesticides are routinely used. Ranchers who have recently begun cacao
cultivation have doubled yields by a minimal application of chemicals.
Cotton has proved, in ten years of commercial cultivation in Chiapas,
to be a successful crOp provided the necessary credit is available.

The boundaries of the coffee, cacao, and cotton regions are unlikely to
expand to include a greater number of acres under cultivation. Commer-
cial banana cultivation is scarcely ten years old, and modern techniques
are followed. Depending upon market conditions, the Soconusco could
become a major region of production or remain much as it is. Suitable
lands for bananas are now in cotton, and to replace cotton with bananas
requires firm contracts from overseas markets. Due to the present over-

supply of bananas in world markets, this contingency is somewhat remote.

180

All commercial agriculture will benefit from improvements in
communications; the solution of land tenure problems, particularly the
fragmentation of ejidg_holdings; adeption of modern production tech-
niques by all farmers; and increased availability of credit. Technical
assistance is increasingly needed, but as the supply of agricultural
agents improves this obstacle to commercial agriculture will be most
easily overcome.

The future of commercial agriculture is promising. Coffee, as
the most valuable commercial crop, is stable and likely to become more
profitable through increased yield. Cacao cultivation is less certain
because of the rigid price structure. Given incentive in price and
credit, yields could improve, particularly those of ejidg_grown cacao.
Bananas are unlikely to be planted on increased acreage without exten—
sive deve10pment projects by the government, including irrigation and
transportation facilities. Chiapas has a promising future in other
crops, such as sugar cane, rice, yucca, and avocados. Using the eXpe~
rience of commercial farmers, the change from subsistence to totally
commercial agriculture can be accomplished through increased government
interest and assistance. With the use of credit and increased irriga-
tion, soil conservation, and adequate technical assistance, Chiapas is
likely to become known for multiple-crop commercial agriculture, rather

than for concentration upon a few valuable crops.

Conclusions

 

Conclusions drawn from the study can be grouped in four categories:
1) the quality of existing commercial agriculture, 2) characteristics
of the human resources, 3) the role of government, and 4) potential for

development.

181

The Quality of ExistingCommercial Agriculture

 

Although other crops are also produced for the commercial market,
coffee, cacao, bananas, and cotton are good indicators of the variation
in conditions under which commercial agriculture exists.

Grown for more than a century in Chiapas, coffee is the best estab-
lished and most prestigious of commercial crops. The coffee growers are
highly conservative. Perhaps because they continue to obtain good har-
vests, the planters are reluctant to recognize the need for chemical
fertilizers and pesticides. Despite proven success in other countries,

the Chiapanecos have conducted little experimentation in coffee growing

 

without shade.

The cattle rancher-cacao planters and the banana and cotton
growers have demonstrated by their willingness to use modern techniques
that modern methods can overcome the problems Of tropical lowland agri-
culture. Infertile soils and disease control can be managed to the
point that commercial agriculture is both viable and practical.

The further deve10pment of some crops will depend primarily on mar-
kets. The coffee market, alone, Operates smoothly, despite difficulties
in communication. For cacao and cotton, the government maintains a
monOpoly buying power. With a stable government market, planters are
encouraged to increase supply through improved yields and expanded acre-
age. But an assured market with fixed prices provides little incentive
for improved quality, which in the case of cacao prevents the deve10pment
of an international market. On the other hand, lacking a fixed market,
banana planters strive for both quality and high yields. Aware that the
market they supply will accept even low quality, they nevertheless do not

relax their standards. Their intent is to develOp an overseas market.

182

Marketing facilities vary according to the crop rather than identity
of the buyer. Coffee is a long-established eXport, with warehouses,
drying facilities, independent company and government buyer facilities,
and transport arrangements commensurate with its status as a highly
valuable crop. Elaborate facilities and arrangements handle the cotton
crOp, but cacao and bananas are less valuable commodities and have
correspondingly less complicated infrastructures. Cacao is bought and
sold with a minimum of personnel and physical plants in Chiapas, while
no facilities exist at all for bananas.

Therefore, two sets of conditions exist, one of well deve10ped
market infrastructure based upon the value of the crop and the other
of minimal development. There are also two major types of markets, the
government as a monOpoly with volume prized more than quality and a
competitive market in which quality is as important as volume. The
latter is characteristic of coffee now and will be in the future for
bananas. These types of markets are applicable to other crops as
well. Corn and beans as major crops, and yucca and palm oil as scarce
but valuable crOps, are sold only to the government or buyers desig-
nated by it. Other crops, such as rice and avocados, enter a

competitive market.

Characteristics of the Human Resources

 

Although to the Chiapanecos the possession of land is equated with

 

prestige, farming the land is equally important to them. No arable
land is deliberately left idle. However, in the minds of many, the
need to cultivate the land does not equate with performing the work

oneself. The ideal is to manage the Operation and hire others to

183

perform the labor. This applies even to the hundreds of small farmers
who have been able to purchase land since the changes in land tenure
laws. The small farmers seldom work their land full time. Instead,
they "moonlight," 143, they work as hired labor on large farms or as
employees in the tertiary sector. They choose crOps which demand a
minimum of time, which is one reason for the great expansion of coffee
cultivation. But, since the easily grown crops are not carefully cul-
tivated, they fail to produce the maximum possible yields. A change
in attitude toward physical labor would help to raise agricultural
productivity.

The ejiditarios do not appear to avoid labor, but suffer a lack

 

of education. Although the laws of Mexico require each child to

receive at least a few years of schooling, they often are not fully
implemented. The government provides a school and at least one teacher
for each ejido, but parents Often do not see the necessity for education
and refuse to send their children to school. Therefore, giidg_farmers
often lack the primary skills of reading and writing. In addition, the
schools provide no education aimed at improving knowledge of agriculture.

Hence, the ejiditarios depend upon the few available agricultural agents

 

for information on new crops and methods.

Education aimed at changing attitudes and improving agriculture
is needed throughout rural Chiapas. The farmers are generally recep-
tive to new ideas, as evidenced by their willingness to change to
cotton cultivation, but lack the means and knowledge to utilize them.

The farmers, laborers, and ejiditarios have not yet contributed

 

much to the migration of surplus labor to the cities. Migration has

begun from some of the more densely occupied municipios of the

 

184

Soconusco, but the numbers remain small. The migrants have moved

mainly to other municipios or to the cities of Tuxtla Gutierrez and

 

Tapachula, where they can easily return home if they so choose.
Surplus labor on the plateau, where population densities are
highest and arable land is extremely limited, is less of a problem
than might be eXpected. This is because of a somewhat symbiotic
relationship which exists between the plateau and the coffee lands.
Coffee harvests occur in or around December, the time when agricul-
tural activities on the plateau are at a minimum. Consequently, large
numbers of laborers can be attracted from their farms and ejidos to
harvest the coffee. In this manner plateau farmers are employed the
year around, and they also obtain badly needed cash. Even if the
trend toward truck farming on the plateau is encouraged by the agri-
cultural agents, the Same situation will prevail, for the high altitude

there precludes winter crOpping.

The Role of the Government

 

When a government is sincere in promoting agricultural development,
as the Mexican government has proven to be, it can be highly effective.
Part Of the government's role is to supply trained agricultural agents
to assist the farmers and to engage in research on crops and methods of
cultivation that could be used in a particular region. The rapid devel-
Opment of cotton cultivation in Chiapas illustrates the magnitude of
possible change when actively promoted by a government. The saga of
cotton also demonstrates the government's most potent instrument: credit.

Credit, when accompanied by realistic planning, is necessary for

the establishment and deve10pment of all commercial agriculture.

185

Originally, coffee cultivation was undertaken by men who had outside
sources of credit. The growth in cacao and bananas has come from men
who could obtain agricultural credit intended for other crOps or who
owned businesses from which they could obtain cash and apply it to
cacao or banana cultivation. The time is past when farmers could
change their crOps or establish new ones with a bare minimum of credit,
and only governments now have sufficient credit to radically change
the agriculture of an entire region.

An inherent danger lies in government direction and control of
change. In Chiapas the establishment and continuation of cotton as
a commercial crop is one such example. What happens if that credit
and direction is withdrawn? The richer farmers could continue and

they might do so, but the small farmers and ejiditarios could not.

 

Cotton is a high cost crap in the tropics, and the profit is just
sufficient to pay living expenses and the cost of the next year's
seed.

Absolute control and direction tends to destroy initiative.
Other Latin American governments have found this true in colonization
schemes. In Chiapas the cotton farmers of the Soconusco, except for
a very few, cannot conceive of cultivating any other crop or of the
cotton-engendered prosperity coming to an end. Part of the govern-
ment's role should be to prevent further loss of initiative on the
part of the farmers.

Another facet of government activity will be needed as more
commercial farming is generated in the state. Massive use of chemi-
cals in modern cultivation upsets the ecological balance. It is thus

far evidenced only in loss of bird life in the cotton regions, but

186

other changes will come. It will be the government's responsibility

to avoid dangerous alteration in the environment.

The Potential for DevelOpment

 

Throughout the research, it has been evident that the potential
for valuable commercial agriculture in Chiapas is very good. Based on
the present variety of commercial crops, the multitude of climatic
variations, and change in attitude toward commercial cultivation,
deve10pment should move toward many specialized crops rather than
to increased acreage of present crOps. Nearly all tropical crOps
could be profitably cultivated. Now is the time, while the state
remains somewhat of a frontier zone and before population increases
to the point that all of the state's revenue and thought must be
directed toward welfare activities, that the government should act
to develOp the full agricultural potential of the area.

With improvements in communications, particularly roads and the
deep water port, and improvements in commercial agriculture, the
potential for deve10pment of food processing industries will increase.
The oil of the north brings needed revenue, but does not lend itself
to the deve10pment of heavy industry or the employment of a large
labor force. And except for the newly discovered copper, the state
lacks mineral resources upon which to base other forms of industry.
Food processing appears to be the most practical form of industrial
deve10pment. A beginning has been made with rice mills, meat, and
fish processing plants, but much more could be developed.

Little research other than in crOps, or for specific projects,

has been carried on in Chiapas. Data collection is in the most

187

rudimentary stage and needs considerable improvement and eXpansion.
Although inadequate data is a handicap to the researcher, the need
for field research is evident and Offers opportunities for scholars

in almost any discipline.

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Urquhart, D. H. "Pests and Diseases." Cacao (1961), pp. 150-184.

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196

Villa Rojas, Alphonso. "The Tzeltal." Handbook of Middle American
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Vivo Escoto, Jorge A. "Estudio geografia y demografi:a de Chiapas. "
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"La integracion de Chiapas y su agregacion a la nacion

 

 

 

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Vogt, Evon Z. "Chiapas Highlands." Handbook of Middle American Indians,
Volume 7. Edited by Evon Z. Vogt, Volume Editor, and Robert
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Wagner, Philip. "Indian Economic Life in Chiapas." Economic Geography,
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Wolf, Eric, and Palerm, Angel. "Irrigation in the Old Acolhua Domain,
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Public Documents

 

Inter-American Committee for Agricultural DevelOpment. Inventory of
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in Latin America: Mexico, Volume 7. Washington, D. C. Pan
American Union, 1963.

 

 

 

Mexico. Direccidn General de EstadiSticas. Annuario estadeticas -
1960-1961. Mexico, D. F.: N. P., 1961.

 

197

Direccion General de EstadiSticas. CensogegroPecuario:
Totales comparativos en 1930, 1940gy 1950 per entidades y
distritos economico agribolas. Mexico, D. F.: N. P., 1950.

 

 

 

 

DirecciOn General de EstadiSticas. Censo de poblacidh -
1940, Volume III, Chiapas. Mexico, D. F.: N. P., 1940.

 

 

Direccidn General de EstadiSticas. Censo de poblacion -
1950. Mexico, D. F.: N. P., 1950.

 

 

 

Direccidn General de Estadeticas. Censo de poblaci6n -
1960. México, D. F.: N. P., 1960.

 

 

Direccion General de Planeacidn, Desarrollo y Fomento del
Estado. Desarrollo socio-econ6mico de los altos de Chiapas:
Programa y accidn. Plan Quinqfiinal 1972-1976. Mexico, D. F.:
N. P., October, 1972.

 

 

 

Instituto Mexioano del Cafe; Secretaria de Agricultura y
Ganaderia. Estadisticas del cafél Mexico, D. F.: Los
Talleres Gréficos de la Nacidn, 1970.

 

 

Leyes y Codegas de México. Ley federal de reformapgraria.
Mexico, D. F.: Editorial Porrua, 1972.

 

 

Secretaria de Agricultura y Ganaderia. Plan agriCola,
ganadero y forestal del estado de Chiapas, 1969-1970. Mexico,
D. F.: N. P., 1969.

 

 

 

Secretaria de Agricultura y Ganaderia y Gobierno del Estado
de Chiapas. Informe de trabajo del patronato estatal de
estensidn, investigacidh y sanidad agriCOlay ganadera del
estado. México, D. F.: N. P., July, 1970-June, 1971.

 

 

Secretaria de Agricultura Ganaderia, Secretaria de Hacienda
y Credito Publico Banco de Mexico, 8. A. Projections of Supply
and Demand for Agricultural Products in Mexico 1965, 1970 and
1975. Washington, D. C.: United States Department of Agri-
cultural Economic Research Service by Israel Program for
Scientific Translations, August, 1966.

 

 

United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization. Agricultural
Commodities Projections for 1975 and 1985, Volumes 1 and 2.
Rome: United Nations, 1967.

 

Velasco Suarez, Manuel, C. Gobernador de Chiapas. Chiapas: Segundo
informe de gobierno. Tuxtla Gutierrez, Chiapas, Mexico:
N. P., 1 November, 1972.

 

 

198

Unpublished Material

 

Biechler, Michael J. "The Coffee Industry of Guatemala: A Geographic
Analysis." Unpublished Ph. D. dissertation. Michigan State
University, 1970.

Duch, Gary Juan. "Introduccion a1 estudio de los problemas economicos
de Chiapas." Unpublished master's thesis. Chiapas, Mexico:
Escuela Nacional de Agricultura, 1972.

Krauss, Emilio Espafia. "Los problemas del cacao en México y su posible
solucion." Unpublished mimeographed report. México, D. F.,
November, 1969.

Marin, Manuel Verytia. "Posibilidades de desarrollo agropecuario del
estado de Chiapas en base a obras de riego y drenaje. "
Unpublished report from Secretaria de Hidrologico, October,

1971.
Moreno, Gaycochea Camilo. "Posibilidades de industrializaciOn agriCola
en el estado de Chiapas." Unpublished master's thesis.

Chiapas, Mexico: Escuela Nacional de Agricultura, 1971.

Atlases and Maps

 

American Geographic Society. Chiapas, Mexico. 1:1,000,000 World Map
Series.

 

Hernandez Millares, Jorge, and Carrillo Escribano, Alejandro. Atlas
porrua de la republica Mexicana. 1:2,000,000. Mexico,
D. F. Editorial Porrua, S. A, 1966.

 

Instituto Mexicano del Cafe: Atlas de café: Mexico, D. F.: Los
Talleres Gréficos de la Nacidn, 1969.

 

Secretaria de la Presidencia, Direccion de Estudios Econdmicos, Comision
de Estudios del Territorio Nacional. Climatic Data Sheets.
México, D. F.: N. P., 1960.

 

United States Geological Survey. Chiapas, Mexico. 1:500,000, 1959.

 

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