This essay seeks to demystify the vision that has been built around the relations of land ownership and production that have unfolded in the Mexican countryside. Going beyond the nationalist canons forged from a revolution of social origin, but which had capitalist results, it emphasizes two factors: the importance of Indian peoples as the true owners of the land and influence of the United States in defining the economic structure of the Mexican countryside. In particular our analysis focuses on the nature and consequences of Constitutional Article 27 that organizes the juridical framework for rural land ownership and use.