 Along with ensuring " revolutionary justice " , the other key early platform of Guevara 's was establishing agrarian land reform . Almost immediately after the success of the revolution on January 27 , 1959 , Guevara made one of his most significant speeches where he talked about " the social ideas of the rebel army " . During this speech , he declared that the main concern of the new Cuban government was " the social justice that land redistribution brings about " . A few months later on May 17 , 1959 , the Agrarian Reform Law crafted by Guevara went into effect , limiting the size of all farms to 1 @,@ 000 acres ( 400 ha ) . Any holdings over these limits were expropriated by the government and either redistributed to peasants in 67 @-@ acre ( 270 @,@ 000 m2 ) parcels or held as state run communes . The law also stipulated that sugar plantations could not be owned by foreigners . 
