Abstract

This article examines the process of distribution of individual parcels of land to peasants labouring on large expropriated estates in the period of the agrarian reform before 1973.This land distribution took place in the second half of the seventies, under the regime of the military dictatorship.The challenge faced by the new small-scale landowners in seeking to keep their parcels of land is discussed, with special focus on what happened in southern Chile. Based on documents obtained from the Ministry of Agriculture, the Agricultural Reform Corporation (CORA), notary public archives, interviews and laws, this study also examines the procedure used to divide the land into parcels, and how the selection of beneficiaries was carried out. The number and percentage of plots sold by the beneficiaries in the provinces ofValdivia and Osorno and their motivation to sell are outlined in detail.The new agrarian reform implemented by the military dictatorship had the purpose of redefining the foundations of capitalist accumulation, and the distribution of individual plots of land is an example of this.The new small-scale landowners had few tools to cope with the new neo- liberal scenario; yet they were left to fend for themselves as the state had no interest in supporting them.