sentences:  PRI-controlled labor unions, (""charro" unions") maintained a tight grip over the working classes; the PRI held rural farmers in check through its control of the "ejidos" (state-owned plots of land that peasants could farm but not own), and generous financial support of universities and the arts ensured that most intellectuals rarely challenged the ideals of the Mexican Revolution.In this way, PRI rule was supported by a broad national consensus that held firm for decades, even as polarizing forces gradually worked to divide the nation in preparation for the crises of the 1970s and 80s.The consensus specifically held that Mexico would be capitalist in its economic model; that the masses of workers and peasants would be kept in check—as separate units and not allowed to merge into a single sector that would have too much strength; that the state and the party would be the agent for this control; and that the state and private entrepreneurs would compete in the mixed economy.