The agricultural land distribution at the Yaqui River valley, Sonora: A Diplomatic Differendum between the U.S. and Mexico, 1936-1938

A series of diplomatic notes issued by the U.S. government invoked the defense of their citizens' interests in Mexico to disavow the contents of the Article 27, Section 1 in the Mexican Constitution of 1927, causing a diplomatic differendum between both countries. Our goal is to examine the posture of the American government regarding the agricultural land distribution program established by the Mexican President Lázaro Cárdenas at the Yaqui River Valley, Sonora, and the replies by the Mexican government. This historical assay about the US-Mexico relationships reveals that Cárdenas accepted the American diplomacy intromission and the compensations granted to American citizens despite the legal reason was on the Mexican side. Even in the agrarian legislation it was contemplated the payment of compensations to the Mexican landowners, including the nationalized ones.