National Peasant Confederation

political organization, Mexico

Also known as: CNC, Confederación Nacional Campesina

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July 1, 2026

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The National Peasant Confederation (Confederación Nacional Campesina, or CNC) was a political organization in Mexico founded by President Lázaro Cárdenas in 1938. It was established to consolidate beneficiaries of the agrarian reform program, which distributed land to previously landless farmers. The CNC served as a political base for this program and was one of the four sectors of the restructured government party, the Partido de la Revolución Mexicana (PRM).1

The CNC aimed to strengthen the political structure of the regime and represented the interests of peasants. While Cárdenas intended to withdraw from politics after his presidency, he remained a significant figure and, in the early 1960s, sponsored a rival group to the CNC called the Independent National Peasant Confederation.1

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Lázaro Cárdenas
…its beneficiaries in a new National Peasant Confederation (Confederación Nacional Campesina, or CNC). This was but one more step in strengthening the general political structure of his new regime. Another major step in this direction was taken early in 1936 when most of the country’s dispersed central labour groups were…
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…its beneficiaries in a new National Peasant Confederation (Confederación Nacional Campesina, or CNC). This was but one more step in strengthening the general political structure of his new regime. Another major step in this direction was taken early in 1936 when most of the country’s dispersed central labour groups were…
Read More