He understood that their power base in the state system relied heavily on the taxation of crops, especially of coffee, the chief export, grown by the campesinos who had come to the country's defense when the elites had abandoned it to protect their own interests.
Their power base in the state system relied heavily on the taxation of crops, especially of coffee grown by the campesinos who had come to the country's defense when the elites had abandoned it to protect their own interests. He understood this. Coffee was the chief export.