A labor system used in the [[Dan's History Web/US 1/Topic Index/Inca Empire]] that required all able-bodied people to work for the state for a limited number of days out of the year. The work requirement of the indigenous system was relatively light and did not prevent people from getting their own work done or supporting their families. Sometimes the Mita work would be away from home, like construction or maintenance of the road system or collection of guano on the coast for use on farms in the interior. But it was organized to be sustainable and to provide public goods that benefitted everyone The Inca had a fairly substantial social welfare system. This changed under the Spanish and the Mita became equivalent to slavery. Under Spanish rule for example, to avoid being sent to work in the mines of Potosí, people would maim or cripple themselves or their children.