In 1909, Emiliano Zapata became the leader of the farmers from his village to protect their farms. Zapata and his men fought the government troops in the south of Mexico.
In 1913, Pancho Villa formed an army of several hundred farmers in the north. They fought on the side of Venustiano Carranza and the Constitutionalists.
Eventually Carranza rose to the presidency and created the Constitution of 1917, which still is in effect today. This resulted in the ejido or farm cooperative program that redistributed much of the country's land from the wealthy land holders to the peasants. The ejidos are still in place today and comprise of nearly half of all farmland in Mexico.
