In 2016, the researchers Legorreta Díaz and Ramos Gil published a study of the last years of the haciendas of Ocosingo, in Chiapas, in the Revista Mexicana de Sociología. A trusted worker remembered doña Elena, the owner of the hacienda San José Chajtajal: “Era madrina de todo mundo” (She was godmother to everyone). “Casi todos eran sus ahijados” (Almost everyone was her godchild).
A former peón of the hacienda Dolores described a good boss. “Un buen patrón es el que da monte pa’ trabajar, ayuda a su gente a sembrar su milpa” (A good patrón is one who gives land to work and helps his people plant their cornfield). The authors write that this authority “nos remite a la autoridad del padre” (brings us back to the authority of the father).