The Vi Thanh - Hoa Luu Agrovilles: Intentions of the Ngo Dinh Diem’s government and its failure

Abstract

From 1954 to 1960, the Diem government implemented numerous policies to pacify the rural areas in the South of Vietnam to counter the revolutionary movements. One of the notable strategies in 1959 was the "Agrovilles " policy. President Ngo Dinh Diem chose Vi Thanh - Hoa Luu (Phong Dinh province) to establish a typical Agrovilles in the Southwestern region, which was a model of prosperous rural areas situated right at the gateway to the revolutionary base of U Minh. The Diem’s government executed various socio-economic and political-military policies in this Agrovilles to turn it into a stronghold against the communist forces. The Agrovilles policy of the Ngo Dinh Diem’s government in Vi Thanh - Hoa Luu resulted in significant impacts on the socio-economic landscape, particularly escalating deep-seated conflicts between the populace and Diem’s government. This led to the People's Struggle movement and the revolutionary forces causing the fundamental collapse of the Vi Thanh - Hoa Luu Agrovilles in 1960.