`Modern Latin America` 6th Ed. by Thomas E.Skidmore and Peter H. Smith

The military coup of 3rd October 1968 in Peru saw the coming to power of a reformist military government led by Juan Velasco Alvarado . The 1968-1980 military government was the longest continuous rule by any twentieth-century Peruvian regime . However , it is worth noting that , the period must be viewed as two distinct governments , the seven-year rule of the Velasco regime and the five-year transition back to traditional policies and civilian rule under Velasco 's successor , General Franciso Morales Berm 'dez Cerutti (Masterson , 1991 :244 ) The main goal of Valesco 's government as

he himself puts it was to make Peru an independent nation and to bring about structural changes promoting economic development (Masterson , 1991 :244 ) The Velasco regime originally regarded agrarian reform in highly technical terms and envisioned it as a way of modernizing the rural sector , increasing productivity and purchasing power , and re-allocating economic resources from the agrarian to the urban industrial sector . In this agrarian reforms formed the basis for change during the years of up to 1980 . This essay will examine the goals , accomplishments and its eventual demise of the Valesco regime . This shall be in the light of social justice and economic development

In the field of economic development , the Velasco regime decreed one of the most far-reaching agrarian reforms in Latin American history nine months after taking power . As the regime progressed , it sought to restructure labor-management relations , the production and distribution of products , the scope and function of foreign corporations in Peru 's economy and the role of the state in the national economy . From its inception on 24 June 1969 , when General Velasco , using the words of T 'pac Amaru II , proclaimed , Peasant , the landlord will no longer eat from your poverty ' the agrarian reform program became the cornerstone of the military government 's agenda for change (Masterson , 1991 :254

An authority on rural unrest in Peru , Howard Handelman , noted , More than any other program initiated by the Velasco government , Agrarian Reform Decree Law 17716 expressed the `radical reformist ' modernizing ideology of the military 's more progressive sector ' Over the nine years of reform , the governments of Velasco and Morales Berm 'dez transferred more than 9 .5 million hectares of land to more than 370 ,000 Peruvian families (Masterson , 1991 :253 ) The Velasco regime originally regarded agrarian reform in highly technical terms and envisioned it as a way of modernizing the rural sector , increasing productivity and purchasing power , and re-allocating economic resources from the agrarian to the urban industrial sector . The military government radical members of the military government , it sought to break the back ' of Peru 's rural landed oligarchy . With the swift expropriation of the north coast communal agricultural estates , the military also aimed to eliminate or substantially reduce the political influence of APRA-dominated labor unions among the permanent wage laborers of the coastal enterprises (Masterson , 1991 :250

In fact , Peru 's program created three types of benefactors : family-sized agricultural units , indigenous communities , and , most particularly agricultural cooperatives known as Agrarian...