But the national land reform has only made the most arbitrary and halted progress up to now.  Of the 66 million hectares that were distributed up to 1992, almost 90% benefited corporate interests in the tropical eastern regions, and only 10% went to indigenous peoples and peasant farmers (campesinos) in the western high plains and valleys.1

About one third of Bolivia´s approximate population of nine million live in rural areas, and many of them are trying to eke out a meager living on small over-cultivated properties.  Up to now, the control over large areas of land lies in the hands of a wealthy elite while the indigenous peoples and peasant farmers only have access to a fraction of the soil.  According to a study of the UN (Oct. 2005), 2 million campesinos farm 5 million hectares of land, whereas 100 families control 25 million hectares.  About 250,000 campesinos are landless.2

The concentration of large estates and haciendas in the Oriente (eastern Bolivia) that sometimes encompass over 100,000 hectares are the legacy of previous governments.  During the Banzer dictatorship (1971-78), for example, 12 million hectares of land were deeded, including large grants of 70,000 to 120,000 ha that went to individuals.3  Today, a solitary cow can sometimes be found grazing on 50,000 hectares.4

Under the new government of Evo Morales Aima, INRA actively works to complete the process of re-distribution of land that is long overdue.  In a pilot project carried out in the municipality of Tiwanaku, home to the ancient religious and political centre of the original peoples of the Altiplano, 15,000 ha have been divided and turned over in 226 parcels to inhabitants in March 2006.  INRA officials not only recognise the need to speed up the land reform, but through their current work, they also express the government´s vision of social and political inclusion of campesinos and indigenous peoples.

For more information on current INRA affairs, see the official government website at http://www.inra.gov.bo