The agrarian reform laws of Cuba sought to break up large landholdings and redistribute land to those peasants who worked it, to cooperatives, and the state. Laws relating to land reform were implemented in a series of laws passed between 1959 and 1963 after the Cuban Revolution. Che Guevara was named head of the INRA as minister of industries and oversaw the land reform policies.
Law no. 3 of the Sierra Maestra was enacted in the fall of 1958 by the rebel forces under the command of Fidel Castro and implemented only in the liberated territories of Eastern Cuba under their control.
On January 27, 1959, Che Guevara made one of his most significant speeches where he talked about "the social ideas of the rebel army." During this speech, he declared that the main concern of the new Cuban government was "the social justice that land redistribution brings about." On May 17, 1959, the Agrarian Reform Law called for and crafted by Guevara went into effect, limiting the size of farms to and real estate to. Any holdings over these limits were expropriated by the government and either redistributed to peasants in parcels or held as state-run communes. The law also stipulated that sugar plantations could not be owned by foreigners. A new government agency, the National Institute of Agrarian Reform, was established to administer this law, and quickly became the most important governing body in the nation, with Guevara named Minister of Industries. For lands taken over compensation was offered in the form of Cuban currency bonds to mature in 20 years at 4.5% interest. Bonds were based on land values as assessed for tax purposes. During Batista's reign American proprietors had lands assessed at very low rates. INRA established its own 100,000 person militia, used first to help the government seize control of the expropriated land, supervise its distribution, and later to set up cooperative farms. The land confiscated included owned by U.S. corporations. Soon after Guevara trained these forces as a regular army, while the INRA also financed most of the highway construction in the country, built rural housing and even tourist resorts per Guevara's industrial plans.
The Second Agrarian Reform Law was enacted in October 1963. It nationalized all land in excess of 67 hectares, with a few exceptions such as land held by several brothers in common, as well as some exceptionally productive farms. The confiscated farmland was turned into state farms, bringing 70% of the land under state ownership.
