Meaning of The land belongs to those who work it

What is the land belongs to those who work it:

"The land belongs to those who work it" is a famous phrase of the Mexican Emiliano Zapata Salazar, recognized military and peasant leader, who represented the proclamation of the agrarian reform, proposed in 1911, during the Mexican Revolution.

"The land belongs to those who work it" is a phrase that surrounds the feeling of struggle that Zapata promulgated among the peasants of his country. His purpose was to achieve the vindication of the peasants, the property rights of the cultivated lands and human dignity.

Zapata was a military leader who commanded the Liberation Army of the South and, represented the peasant resistance, promoted the social struggle, the agrarian reforms, defense of communal land ownership, respect for peasants and indigenous communities, among others.

Likewise, Zapata spoke out against the fact that a large number of lands in Mexico belonged to wealthy people, such as latifundistas or oligarchs.

However, these lands were worked arduously by the peasants who received in exchange for their hard jobs, scarce resources to survive and, in addition, they were repressed by the security forces.

Faced with such a situation, Zapata began the struggle in favor of the peasants to end the social differences to which they were subjected. Hence, the phrase "The land belongs to those who work it", expresses the need that Zapata felt to ensure the freedom and livelihood of the peasants, needs that he considered basic.