The Ayala plan was a political and social claim on the part of the Mexican peasantry, proclaimed on November 28, 1911  within the framework of the Mexican Revolution .

It was carried out after the State carried out a land seizure from the native peasants .

The plan was signed and carried out by Emiliano Zapata , head of the peasant revolutionary movements, and by teacher Otilio Montaño Sánchez. They were unaware of the government of President Francisco Madero and accused him of treason against peasant causes . In addition, they ordered the restitution of the seized lands.

The struggle of this movement brought with it several armed confrontations and forever modified Mexican laws, in favor of the peasantry. Thus, s ignificó a before and after in the struggle for the inalienable rights of justice and freedom in that country.

After several frictions with power, Emiliano Zapata was betrayed and assassinated by Venustiano Carranza. Although it is considered that the lands could never be restored as proposed by Zapata, the new Constitution of Mexico of 1917 included important points of the Plan de Ayala.

Enhance your reading: Toltec facts/location/characteristics/religion/economy/clothing

Important points of the Ayala Plan

The Ayala Plan had 15 important points, of which we can highlight the following:

• The president of the Mexican government, Francisco Madero, was ignored from his position for not adhering to the provisions of the Plan of San Luis , added to the errors of his command, also indicated in this plan. Madero and the dictator bosses would be judged as traitors to the Mexican Revolution.
• The restitution of “land, mountains and waters” to the peasants, who had been taken away even though they owned, in writing, ownership of them.
• The redistribution of large areas of land among the population , with compensation to the original owners, post-war compensation and distribution of land among those who did not own any.
• The main leaders of the revolutionary movement would have the power, once the struggles are over, to elect an interim president and governors until democratic elections are called and public power is constituted.

Reform and objectives

After breaking up with Madero, Zapata began working on a document that reflected his demands. Otilio Montaño also participated in this work, in addition to some teachers from Morelos.

The result was the Ayala Plan, signed by its authors on November 25, 1911. Three days later, the Plan was proclaimed in Ayala, Morelos, the town from which it received its name. The signatories also called it the Liberation Plan of the Children of the state of Morelos.

With this document, Zapata and his supporters certified the total break with Madero and established their objectives to continue a revolution that they considered betrayed.

The Plan de Ayala contained the ideas of the Zapatistas, divided into 15 different points. Among the most important were the ignorance of Madero as president of Mexico and the request that the lands monopolized by the landowners, from the time of the Viceroyalty to the Porfiriato, be returned to the peasants.

Rejection of Madero

In addition to adhering to most of the San Luis Plan, the first points of the document presented in Ayala were dedicated to President Madero. The Zapatistas, with this Plan, rejected him as Head of the Revolution and as President of the Republic.

Instead, they expressed their loyalty to Pascual Orozco. In the case, they pointed out, that he did not accept the position, the leadership of the Revolution (not the Presidency of the country) would be exercised by Emiliano Zapata himself.

The authors of the Ayala Plan argued their rejection of Madero by stating that he had maintained “most of the governmental powers and corrupted elements of oppression of the dictatorial government of Porfirio Díaz.” Likewise, they accused him of not complying with what was agreed in the Plan of San Luis.

On the other hand, Zapata accused the Maduro government of oppressing the people and imposing governments in the states without counting on the will of the majority.

Finally, he accused Madero of entering into “scandalous collusion with the scientific party, feudal landowners and oppressive chiefs, enemies of the Revolution proclaimed by him” and asked to resume the fight against the government.

Enhance your reading: Why did Mexico want independence from Spain/stages

Return of land to peasants

The most important part of the Plan de Ayala dealt with the recovery of the lands that the landlords had taken from the peasants. This point, according to the experts, shows the clearly agrarian character of the entire Revolution and, in particular, of the Zapata struggle.

The claimed lands had belonged to the peasants until the time of the Viceroyalty . To recover them from the hands of the landowners or caciques, the former owners had to present their property titles and, thus, demonstrate that they had taken their lands in bad faith. In case of doubt, special courts would be created that would have the last word.

Most of these property titles were communal and had been issued during the Viceroyalty. Years later, the Lerdo Law rendered these titles worthless, which became a very simple way to expropriate communal lands. These cases were the ones that the Plan de Ayala tried to correct.

Land expropriation

Another of the points included in the Ayala Plan was the possibility of expropriating those lands, mountains or waters that were in the hands of large owners. To do so, the state had to pay compensation, which would be established by law.

These lands would be handed over to the towns so that the peasants could work on them. Likewise, it also established that part of these lands could have an industrial use.

Nationalization of assets

For many experts, the most radical point of the document was the 8th. This gave the State the option to nationalize the assets of those landowners or chiefs who were against the Plan.

Two thirds of these assets would be used for matters such as war indemnities and the payment of pensions to widows and orphans of those who died in the struggle to make the Zapatista project a reality.

When discussing private property, since it did not even contemplate the payment of compensation, this point conflicted with the position held by the Madero government.

In addition, it represented a change with respect to the San Luis Plan, which only spoke of the situation of the small property without touching the large concentrations of land.

Causes and consequences of the Ayala Plan

Causes

The main causes of the Ayala Plan were the following:

• The breach of the Plan of San Luis, promulgated in 1910 , which promised to return the usurped and seized lands, by the great landowners of the time, from the peasants.
• The ideological struggle of the Mexican people for the rights of equality, justice and freedom , added to the revolution against the dictatorships of the time.

Consequences

The main consequences of the Ayala Plan were the following:

• The ignorance of Francisco Madero as president of the Mexican government and his subsequent fall.
• The ignorance of Victoriano Huerta as president , successor to Francisco Madero after his death. So also Pascual Orozco as a traitor, joining Huerta as a usurper.
• The armed struggles of the revolutionary movement intensified in order to recover the lands taken from the peasants.
• The establishment of agrarian policies in the region began, in favor of the peasantry.
• The execution of Emiliano Zapata by Carranza, who betrayed him.
• Finally, in the Constitution of 1917, some important points of the Plan de Ayala were taken into consideration.