RHN 97/2017 | Publication
Ricardo Robledo (ed.), Ángel Luis González Esteban and Elisa Botella Rodríguez, Land Reform & Agriculture Globalisation. Spain (1931–1939), Cuba (1990–2008) and the Food Sovereignty Approach, Saarbrücken: Lambert Academic Publishing 2017.
Agricultural growth should be a key component of economic agendas (of economic growth with equity) in developing countries. This book moves from the old to the new agrarian question. It initially discusses the redistributive problems during the Spanish Second Republic (1931–1939). Accordingly, this chapter explores agrarian reform (also from a historiographic perspective) under the political polarisation process of the 1930 to understand how this context reduced reform options. The limits of the political conjuncture to implement reforms demonstrate its shortcomings in Cuba. During the Special Period, the island was forced to enhance sustainable peasant food production. Although this alternative evolved towards food import substitution, the model still faces significant weakness to feed the population. Finally, the book links previous debates on land reforms to the main dimensions of ‘food sovereignty’ based on people’s right to food; this issue represents the new agrarian question problems in developing countries. This book might attract the interest of historians, political analysts, economists (devoted to public action) and ecologists in sustainable development issues.
Source: http://www.aehe.es/