Banana Wars and Neruda UFCO (1/23)
Banana Wars
The authors place the regional nature of the banana trade on a spectrum categorized by size. Caribbean farms were by far the smallest; they were the most reliant on “small growers” and “household labor,” and they were the most susceptible to changes in weather, crop production and international market demand. South American farms, particularly in Colombia and Ecuador, lie somewhere in between Caribbean and Central American models of production. There, “domestic capitalists” controlled most of the production rather than multi-national corporations like UFCO, which directly controlled much of the manufacturing in Central America. Due to shipping failures of Minor Keith and other US companies to export bananas to Europe, European powers gained a market share in the Caribbean and began their own production. US production centered in Central America in the early 1900s, but moved to South America in the 1930s and 40s due to battles with “agricultural disease, labor problems, and meddlesome governments” pursuing land reform. One of those governments was Guatemala, which underwent a US led intervention to overthrow Jacobo Arbenz’s left-leaning redistribution regime. The pressure from Guatemala built because of the increased expropriation of land by UFCO and other producers, which by 1930 was Guatemala’s largest landowner. The South American market opened took over in the post-WWII era, as Ecuador became the leading exporter of bananas for the remainder of the 20th century. Later in the 20th century, multinational companies became less involved in direct production and subcontracted more labor to independent small growers. However, the large companies still hold the small growers hostage by controlling the means of production and access to the most profitable markets.
United Fruit Company (Neruda)
The poem uses the phrase “the Jehovah” to describe the divine mandate that the US and Europe used to justify their “raping” of the land, which he refers to in the “delicate waist” phrase. The use of “the” Jehovah is ironic since Jehovah is a reference to YHWH, or the God of a monotheistic religion. The use of this term in this context implies that the fruit producers who view themselves like God have forsaken the God of Issac and Jacob, the God of the Jews and the God of the Christians (which is the dominant religious tradition in Western culture in favor of their own power. This mirrors the discussion of Galeano and Las Casas, since the conquistadors used religious arguments to justify the conquest. In effect, the American and European multinational companies are doing the same thing using different economic tools. Thus, the Fruit companies and those that ally with them are like flies, drawn to rotting flesh and feces. Neruda lists US-backed tyrants in nearly every Central American country that inspired leftist coups and spurred CIA involvement throughout the region for much of the latter 20th century. Involvement before this period was much more overt. These flies preside over a circus of political regimes that ignore the cries of the ordinary people for vengeance, and Neruda laments their helplessness, along with the natives, who “fall down into the dump.”
Bananas documentary
The idea is that bananas should be the cheapest fruit. Even though apples are grown in the US, they cost twice as much as bananas. This is because the banana industry will cut corners at any length. Any attempt by workers to resist “the octopus” was met with strangulating pressure from the US backed regimes and the US military and Department of State. The massacres that happened in the 20s and 30s still occur today as part of the UFCO/Chiquita. The AUC is the pro-business group that opposes the FARC. Chiquita paid the AUC $1.7 million to protect its market share. Chiquita sponsored the AUC knowing it was a terrorist organization and said it was in the interest of protecting its employees. However, it’s clear that the “employees” were only the people working directly for Chiquita. None of the subcontracted banana workers were protected. Instead, they were sterilized by pesticides.
The authors place the regional nature of the banana trade on a spectrum categorized by size. Caribbean farms were by far the smallest; they were the most reliant on “small growers” and “household labor,” and they were the most susceptible to changes in weather, crop production and international market demand. South American farms, particularly in Colombia and Ecuador, lie somewhere in between Caribbean and Central American models of production. There, “domestic capitalists” controlled most of the production rather than multi-national corporations like UFCO, which directly controlled much of the manufacturing in Central America. Due to shipping failures of Minor Keith and other US companies to export bananas to Europe, European powers gained a market share in the Caribbean and began their own production. US production centered in Central America in the early 1900s, but moved to South America in the 1930s and 40s due to battles with “agricultural disease, labor problems, and meddlesome governments” pursuing land reform. One of those governments was Guatemala, which underwent a US led intervention to overthrow Jacobo Arbenz’s left-leaning redistribution regime. The pressure from Guatemala built because of the increased expropriation of land by UFCO and other producers, which by 1930 was Guatemala’s largest landowner. The South American market opened took over in the post-WWII era, as Ecuador became the leading exporter of bananas for the remainder of the 20th century. Later in the 20th century, multinational companies became less involved in direct production and subcontracted more labor to independent small growers. However, the large companies still hold the small growers hostage by controlling the means of production and access to the most profitable markets.
United Fruit Company (Neruda)
The poem uses the phrase “the Jehovah” to describe the divine mandate that the US and Europe used to justify their “raping” of the land, which he refers to in the “delicate waist” phrase. The use of “the” Jehovah is ironic since Jehovah is a reference to YHWH, or the God of a monotheistic religion. The use of this term in this context implies that the fruit producers who view themselves like God have forsaken the God of Issac and Jacob, the God of the Jews and the God of the Christians (which is the dominant religious tradition in Western culture in favor of their own power. This mirrors the discussion of Galeano and Las Casas, since the conquistadors used religious arguments to justify the conquest. In effect, the American and European multinational companies are doing the same thing using different economic tools. Thus, the Fruit companies and those that ally with them are like flies, drawn to rotting flesh and feces. Neruda lists US-backed tyrants in nearly every Central American country that inspired leftist coups and spurred CIA involvement throughout the region for much of the latter 20th century. Involvement before this period was much more overt. These flies preside over a circus of political regimes that ignore the cries of the ordinary people for vengeance, and Neruda laments their helplessness, along with the natives, who “fall down into the dump.”
Bananas documentary
The idea is that bananas should be the cheapest fruit. Even though apples are grown in the US, they cost twice as much as bananas. This is because the banana industry will cut corners at any length. Any attempt by workers to resist “the octopus” was met with strangulating pressure from the US backed regimes and the US military and Department of State. The massacres that happened in the 20s and 30s still occur today as part of the UFCO/Chiquita. The AUC is the pro-business group that opposes the FARC. Chiquita paid the AUC $1.7 million to protect its market share. Chiquita sponsored the AUC knowing it was a terrorist organization and said it was in the interest of protecting its employees. However, it’s clear that the “employees” were only the people working directly for Chiquita. None of the subcontracted banana workers were protected. Instead, they were sterilized by pesticides.
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