Why The South Vietnamese Peasants Joined The Cause Of The Viet Cong?

There is debate as to why the South Vietnamese peasants joined the cause of the Viet Cong. Scholar Tal Tovy argued that the South Vietnamese peasants weren’t concerned about joining the Viet Cong because of Communism, but because of the land reforms they were advocating. This stance was reinforced by a former communist cadre named Le Van Chan. Le Van Chan claimed that the only thing the South Vietnamese cared about was their land. As long as the peasants got their basic needs protected, then all was good in their eyes. Tovy argued that the reason why the peasants joined the cause of the Viet Cong was that the Viet Cong were going to protect their way of life; nothing more, nothing less. Le Van Chan also claimed that because of this,
One South Vietnamese cadre stated that he was willing to fight to the very end to achieve the life that he wanted to have. Even if he could not achieve that, he wanted to fight for a better life for his children and the generations that will follow his death. There was a drive that was in him to get this done and his courage did not waiver. There was an uprising in the Thanh Toi Village and the Mo Cay District. They too were influenced by the messages the Viet Cong were espousing. Ba Huong, who was the leader of the village the people were being controlled under, assumed that they were being guided under the Viet Cong to undertake this action. Nguyen Thi Dinh also rallied the people who were disadvantaged under Diem in Ben Tre to rise up and take up arms to help themselves become their own landowners in South Vietnam. What this shows is that the people were even ready to fight to achieve a better life for themselves and for the people of Vietnam. Also, a Viet Cong Lieutenant was confident about the popular support for their cause. He believed that the only reason why the movement has picked up steam and persisted was because of the support of the peasants. The peasants were the lifeblood of the cause to the Viet