Page:Margaret Shipman - Mexico's Struggle Towards Democracy (1927).pdf/56



The new administration had three principal problems for immediate solution, the agrarian, the military, and relations with the United States. Each agrarian leader was at once granted land on which to settle his followers; given arms with which to defend their property, seed, tools and machinery with which to till it, and aid in establishing schools. During the six months in which De la Huerta was ad interim president, he signed grants for the return of 100,000 acres of land. He encouraged and strengthened the Zapatista co-operative system, but Obregon later decided to replace the agricultural bank by a national bank which has since been established. In Yucatan, Felipe Carrillo became governor and with the assistance of his Liga de Resistencia made Yucatan one of the foremost states in distribution of land and social advancement. He introduced cultivation of a variety of crops, believing that thus rather than by the exclusive culture of henequen, his people would become economically independent. His policy aroused the bitter animosity of the reactionary planters and led to his murder during the De la Huerta rebellion.

The army, after the assured triumph of the administration had brought all the various groups under the control of General Calles, numbered about 180,000, of which a large proportion were officers, costing the government a million pesos a day in direct upkeep. Obregon proposed to demobolize this army to 50,000 and to that end employed many soldiers in road building and other public works, and settled others in agrarian colo-