Banana Republics: Corrupt Dictators & Agrarian Workers - Essay Sample

Introduction

The term banana republic is often used in the description of a small, impoverished and unstable country. The country, however, encompasses bouts of corruption and widespread crime. The images of such a country evolve from a corrupt and a state actively controlled by a fruit company. During the second half of the twentieth century, a good number of Latin America was ruled by dictators. The dictators were foreigners, strong military men who repressed the Agrarian workers in the region. The banana company like it is known majorly benefitted the local landowners and the foreign investors (Townsend 689). The company strongly interfered each other's affairs, generating a comprehensive state of continuous instability and continuously competed for the approval of their master. Their master, in this case, is the United States of America.

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When the Banana Company arrived in Latin America, it received a rather good reputation. However, as times continued, the status got worse with comparison to other modernization colonies that had mostly ruled the place.

Early Activities of UFC Matching the Details of Americanize and Modernize

Most modernizing entities seeking to stamp their rule over a foreign country usually begin by interacting with the local authorities in a bid to monopolize them and collaborate with them in a way the foreign country thinks they will benefit from the program. They modernizing country, usually begin by making foreign investments in the initial stages in a bid to earn the trust of the locals. In most preliminary countries of modernization, they start by building roads, churches, hospital (generally referred to as mission hospitals), they also get hold of the local authority around who give them exposure to the local man. With modernizing or colonial nations at the initial stages, they install a system that will help dominate over the locals. The commonly used modes of domination include imperialism, radicalism, capitalism, nationalism, and many others depending on the one that suits them best.

The united fruit company in the initial stages depicted precisely the idea of modernization or Americanization in the Latin American countries. First, before they built an impressive production and distribution network of bananas from Central America to the Caribbean United, they conquer the authorities. The organization in the initial stages made sure all the powers were on their side. The local authorities and government were eager to attract international development to help modernize their economy. The local governments of Latin America got into consensus with the management of the company in the belief that the company would bring development to the region. They believed an American company would modernize the sector.

The entrance of the United Fruit Company demonstrated a historical sense of purpose to return civilization in the ardent of the new history. Just like modernizing by the European imperialists begin by investing in the local countries to help gain their trust in the initial stages, so did the United Fruit Company. The United Company started by building plantations, railways, telegraph lines, housing, hospitals, and ports. All these they made in the production area. Investing in all these was a sure way of winning the trust of the local leaders and the local government. Once they earned the trust of the leaders, they would then use these trust to stamp their rule on the locals. The confidence from the local leaders was to help the UFC gain advantage of other investors that were similarly looking to invest in the opportunity that had risen in Central America.

The money-hungry tycoons Minor C. Keith and Andrew W. Preston introduced a modernizing of Americanizing philosophy that would help them take over the Central American laborers. The company, through adapting the imperialism philosophy, had made itself an ambassador of the American civilization. Even though it was a private company, but through its actions, it was associated with the United States government efforts to modernize Americanize the Caribbean and Central America.

How did the treatment of laborers foster anti-Americanism?

Apart from planting bananas and hob-Nob dictators, the corporation treated the laborers like imperialists. Firstly, the ethnic composition of the workers was made in a way to terrorize the locals. White United States employees dominated the upper echelons of the company. The Americans held Positions, like those of engineers, architects, scientists, and doctors. Hispanics from the local and host nations were either laborers or operated on the middle-level positions. In the middle-level area, they were unable to pull any urgent calls for the company. All the company management had done was to contain their abilities.

For the West Indies migrant laborers, native indigenous workers and workers from the lowland the company controlled every bit of their social life without enough pay. Apart from just labor camps, the employees were enslaved. The company provided employee housing, stores, warehouses churches, schools, hospitals, and all other social facilities to contribute to the control that the company had over their laborers. The employees were dictated to travel on company trains and ships. The employees were not allowed ever to set foot on company property. In totality, the UFC had established its corporate colonial beachhead at the Caribbean shores of Central America.

Philanthropic Outreach to Save the Reputation

After labor unionization legalization, the laborers began to strike, exposing the conditions at which they were suffering. Small scale fruit producers similarly joined the opposition to help regain equality status with the American workers, in the text the author says, "The Public - that mysterious entity which is respected and reviled, feared and defied, but which always wins when it gets mad - aroused itself and sounded a deepening thunder of protest," The local workers were demanding for the push to re-distribute the taken communal lands that were sold to American Multinationals Corporation. The local government had helped the company by creating a system with no social reforms, which was now coming to an end. The company had to save their reputation.

To save reputation, the company decided to organize medical camps. Organizing medical fields were a philanthropic exercise that would help the corporate in regaining a functional status. A good reputation would ensure a longer duration of business in the region.

The medical camps not only tended to the medical needs of the company employees but moved throughout the tropical regions helping people. The company doctors used their modern facilities and innovative methods to sanitize the company's reputation. The company created a sphere of influence to convince the nation and the rest of the world that they were playing the leading role in the development of tropical medicine. They created the notion that they took a leading role in spreading modern medical science that would help cure malaria. All these philanthropy was to help cool down the striking workers and save the company's reputation.

Use of Propaganda to Explain Position on Activities in the Caribbean Countries

After the Second World War, the Caribbean nations, through their leader like Fidel Castro, encouraged communism. The nations came together to demand equality in treatment. Just like the US, the UFC had also decided to engage in anti-communism activities. They were well aware that communism and unionism would reduce their installation of dictatorship on the laboring workers and the distribution of the world (Euraque 257). Their methods intersected with those of the American government through organized guerilla attacks, government crackdowns, and civil wars. The company was at the forefront to help the American government engineer a coup. However, the plan did not go as expected since every American official involved in the plot had a family or business connection that would destroy business for the company itself. In the text, it is proof when the author says, "We are shocked when it is revealed that we have been 'sold' a lie. Then we get embarrassed and try to forget, as we did with United Fruit (Chapman 12)."

The company decided to use propaganda in its defense. They claimed as it turned out that they had cultivated a clubby tie with those in power. They had also helped pioneered several arts of public relations with other local entities (Chapman 12). Most importantly, the company was pushing for a cartoon character. The company coddled dictators while using a dose of paternalism and violence to contain the striking laborers. The text explains that "repressive regimes were united fruit's best friends, with coups, d'etat among its specializations,"

The Similarity of the United Fruit Company and the Current Multinationals

In the final pages of the text, the author believes contemporary corporations share resemblance to the United Fruit Company. The author claims, "The multinationals would have us all banana republics." The quite is proof that the author strike similarity between UFC and the current corporations. Likeness includes present corporations where consumers and the government give free rein to multinational, which in turn creates a massive global force of corporation acting as if there isn't any control.

Another similarity is the current multinationals engaging in corporate social responsibilities by providing basic needs like health care to the people. If the government cannot afford the basics, the mono-product produced by the company, they use it to dictate the laborers who work for them. The government should provide basic needs without considering the rapid and reckless urge for globalization.

Works Cited

Chapman, Peter. Bananas: how the United Fruit Company shaped the world. Open Road+ Grove/Atlantic, 2014. (001-123)

Euraque, Dario A. "Globalized Fruit, Local Entrepreneurs: How One Banana-Exporting Country Achieved Worldwide Reach." Agricultural History 91.2 (2017): 250.

Townsend, Sarah J. "Money Mazes, Media Machines, and Banana Republic Realisms." American Literary History 31.4 (2019): 687-714.