January 23, 2020

Moberg and Striffler

The banana business has impacted Latin America militarily, diplomatically, economically, and through foreign interests. It created large sectors that solely exported bananas, which in turn, created a dependence in national and regional economies throughout the world market. Bananas created ecological, demographic, cultural, and political changed which helped an influx of immigrants to the areas where the banana companies helped with the internal infrastructure of the places where bananas dominated the work force. They became a part of identity in these areas. The business varies in production and organization throughout Central America, the Caribbean, and South America. In Costa Rica and Colombia, the companies used the land in different ways; in Ecuador, the United Fruit Company used different types of labor and recruitment control; finally, it also changed social relations and multinational involvement. Changes ensued from the inception to its demise of the banana trade: The United Fruit Company extended to the Santa Marta region of Colombia originally, but then it turned its attention to Ecuador. Two key changes, however, took place at the turn of the century: foreign companies that dealt with bananas began to use direct production moving away from exporters on a mass scale being independent growers, and the combination of the Boston Fruit Company merged with Minor Keith’s operations which created the United Fruit Company, the major name we hear about today. The UFCO owned a significant amount of land in Guatemala to throw off rivals, and even threw out the Arbenz government who tried to redistribute this land to the poor in the country.

Neruda:

            Neruda mentions the trumpets sounding, potentially at the gates of heaven. He also mentions Jehovah which is another name for God. He discusses the way that the UFCO “rechristened” its territories by renaming them in their own image: The Banana Republic. The religious mentioning’s are criticizing the United Fruit Company by saying that they hold themselves in the image of God and act as if they are Him. The flies are all people who benefitted from the UFCO. All of the names of the people he lists are dictators or those who benefitted from the wealth or presence of the United Fruit Company.