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Over the past century, forest use in Mexico has been subject to almost continual debate. Both state and federal governments have frequently intervened in the sector, to a much greater degree than in other areas of rural life. These interventions have included direct government participation in logging, the control and concession of resource user rights, regulatory action, and conservation strategies, among others. This paper’s main objective is to analyze the forest policies implemented by various Mexican governments over the second half of the twentieth century and to comment on their impact. The general areas tackled by this research are as follows: