306. Editorial Note
On May 17, the Cuban Cabinet promulgated an Agrarian Reform Law. The law called for the expropriation of land in excess of certain limits, with the expropriated land to be either turned into agricultural cooperatives to be run by the new Institute of Agrarian Reform (INRA) or to be distributed as individual holdings of 67 acres. The law also provided that the sugar companies, following the 1960 harvest, could continue to operate the sugar plantations only if the shares in the companies were registered to and owned by Cubans. Finally, in the future, land could be purchased only by Cubans. The principal points of the Agrarian Reform Law were summarized in telegram 1399 from Havana, May 19. (Department of State, Central Files, 837.16/5–1959) Regarding the discussions within the Cabinet with respect to the law, see López Fresquet, My 14 Months With Castro, pages 114–115.