ABSTRACT
Latifundia is a forum of concentration of large estates. In their continuing and immoderate application, the most obvious result has been a gradual and uncontrollable increase of the crime rate in rural areas, in excess of limits that are regarded as tolerable. In mid 1986, the Ministry of Agrarian Reform and Development and the National Agrarian Reform Institute were incapable of initiating any action that would overcome inertia and the barriers raised by the counter-reform. Agrarian conflicts in which murder occurs are extreme cases of violence and involve antagonisms where conflicting interests have attained the limit. The amplitude and intensity of social conflicts in rural areas with a high rate of violence are in strong contrast with a political environment that is more favorable towards recognition of the peasants’ right to land. The peasants are fighting to secure their independence, while the producers want to preserve domains that in effect belong to the peasants.
