Objective:

This work, made from a historical perspective, aims to show the usefulness of data contained in agrarian censuses to know the social history of the villages; and contribute to the knowledge of the socio-productive history of the Bavispe River villages in the first decades of the twentieth century.

Methodology:

The procedural logic of the research process has allowed combining qualitative and quantitative elements by relating information obtained in historical collections with secondary sources, to identify forms of economic activity.

Results:

Elements related to the origin and development of the agrarian censuses in Mexico are identified, their usefulness in research processes of historical-social character is shown, and concrete contribution is made to the knowledge of the socio-productive history of eleven villages of the Bavispe River.

Limitations:

Some elements from two of the villages were analyzed less deeply, due to the characteristics of the found information.

Conclusions:

Based on the agrarian censuses, it has been possible to build a socio-productive representation about those villages for the defined period (1915-1940), in which the agricultural areas were specially valued and disputed by the inhabitants of the region. It has been possible to observe characteristics of their socio-productive situation at the time of requesting land: the situation of most of the inhabitants of these places was socially marginal.