Even though Mexico became independent in 1821, people of Spanish origin still held most of the power. In fact, even though they were only one percent of the population, they owned 85 percent of the land! These rich estates were known as haciendas. The wealthy people ruthlessly stole almost all the land from the natives and mestizos. Under the independent power, the new improvements really only benefited rich people. Emiliano Zapata led a group of peasants in revolt against this new, unequal independence in 1910. He wanted to return the land to peasants, so he led the burning of hacienda buildings to bring them back to traditional communities. Francisco "Pancho" Villa also led revolts against the haciendas, though he didn't burn them. Zapata and Villa gained many followers, but the Creole landowners had control of the cities. They eventually killed Zapata and Villa. The landowners knew that they couldn't continue to rule without winning more support from the people, so they gave back a little bit of land. The vast majority of Mexicans remained poor.
According to the passage, when Mexico became independent,
A. the benefits were felt mostly by the rich people.
B. the peasants gained total control of the government.
C. haciendas were available for peasants to buy.
D. Creole landowners supported Zapata and Villa.