Problems of land reform, distribution of tierras baldías, and equalization of property ownership are by no means new to the student of contemporary Latin America. From Cuba to Bolivia the nature of the problem and the range of solutions have been diverse. Among the countries currently working most arduously toward the alleviation of difficulties is Venezuela. Although this posthumous publication does not go beyond 1945, it is a significant contribution to the analysis of the agrarian question, as well as political events of fairly recent years.
Luis Troconis Guerrero was a journalist and political activist who joined the growing band of young democratic reformers that emerged in 1936 following the death of the dictator Gómez. Among the charter members of the clandestine Partido Democrático Nacional, he later played a part in its 1941 legalization as Acción Democrática. In January of 1944 he was, with Rómulo Betancourt and Valmore Rodríguez, co-founder of the Caracas daily El País, which he edited until the overthrow of constitutional government in November of 1948. Later imprisoned for editing the clandestine Resistencia, he was exiled in 1950 and died in Costa Rica the following year.
The work is organized somewhat unevenly, a fact that is both an asset and a drawback. Of the 260 pages of actual text, more than half are devoted to the two final chapters, which treat successively of the Gómez period and the decade after it. Thus the discussion of Venezuelan agriculture during the colonial period and through the nineteenth century is brisk and factual. This is just as well, for Troconis Guerrero, while well-versed in his topic, was perhaps less than a technical expert. Instead, the emphasis falls on the twentieth century. This is most fortunate.
To those interested in contemporary Venezuela, and especially in its evolving party system, the most useful and interesting part of the book comes in its final third. The author’s admirable prose brings alive the post-Gómez political ferment, the organizational and ideological debates and the determined battle against long-dominant conservative and business interests. Particularly for the four-year clandestine existence of the Partido Democrático Nacional, documents, either fragmentary or whole, have been reproduced that are not available elsewhere.
Indeed, for that brief but important period in the history of what became today’s A. D. party, this volume contains perhaps more information than any other, not excluding Rómulo Betancourt’s own exhaustive Venezuela; Política y Petróleo. There are substantial samplings of party theses, programs, and doctrinal statements that are invaluable. It is interesting to add that the author over a period of years built up a collection of party documents, notes, even informal scraps of memorabilia that, most regrettably, were lost or destroyed as a result of events surrounding his final exile from Venezuela.
The preceding should not be construed as belittling Troconis Guerrero’s treatment of the title subject, for it is excellent. Again his treatment of the situation in more recent years stands out, and is supported with data from a variety of official sources, notably reports of the Banco Central de Venezuela. While the proffered solutions seem occasionally overly broad, they are nonetheless useful landmarks, while the picture of conditions that he paints is informative.
The appendices are most useful for any detailed study of Venezuelan agrarian reform, for the publishers have helpfully included the complete texts of four different projected reforms. First is that of Isaías Medina Angarita in September of 1945; second, the October, 1948, legislation of the Gallegos government; third, the agrarian decree of the military regime in June of 1949; and finally, the recent legislation of the Betancourt government approved in February of 1960.
Admittedly, today’s student of Venezuelan agrarian reform will necessarily need to go beyond the contents of this volume. But the basic problems are well set forth and documented. This is not only a good starting point as such, but further provides a great deal more of use to those concerned with Venezuelan politics.