Repatriation to La Calera and Land Reform During the 1930’s the world experienced economic difficulties as a result of the “Great Depression”. In the United States of America, the economic difficulties were blamed on the Mexican immigrants, and over half a million Mexicanos, both legal residents and their sons and daughters born in the USA were deported back to Mexico. Fancisco E. Balderrama and Raymund Rodriguez documented such travesty in a 1995 book titled ‘Decade of Betrayal: Mexican Repatriation in the 1930s”. Most of the families (Ayala, Bernal Rodriguez) that left La Calera during the Mexican Revolution were part of such repatriation process. However, a small number of families did remain in the United States . During this particular time, Mexico had elected a Michoacano, General (Tata) Lazaro Cardenas as its president. Tata Cardenas was a former revolutionary. His election brought many changes to Mexico. He nationalized the oil industry, took land away from the hacendados and distributed among the poor peasants as advocated by Emiliano Zapapta. Many of those families (Rodriguez, Ayala, Bernal) that returned to La Calera benefitted from the land reform movement. They received land and became part of El Ejido de La Calera. One of the regional leaders of the land distribution movement known as “Agraristas was Jose Ayala Garcia, one of the younger brothers of my grand father Jesus Ayala Garcia. Tio Jose was on of five regional leaders that fought for land reform and made it possible for those returning to la Calera to receive land. There was great opposition from the church and conservative members of the rancho, and those who had been close to the hacendado. I heard stories from my grand fathers about threats against them for accepting the land and against tio Jose because he was a “Revoltoso” (troublemaker). The Agraristas were also labeled as “Anarquistas”. The rich and conservative people from the region aligned with the church called themselves Sinarquistas. Several people were killed in the region during these times as conflict between Sinarquistas and Anarquistas/Agraristas emerged. Tio Jose’s life was threaten too many times and he had to flee the rancho otherwise he would have been killed. He ended back in California where he spent the rest of his life. Up to this day, his contributions have not been officially recognized by the people from La Calera. It may happen one of this days.
Posted on: Wed, 11 Sep 2013 15:32:28 +0000
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