Different Bananas, same old story.
When the United Fruit Company dissolved it was replaced by Chiquita Brands International, another US-based company with tremendous lobbying power that routinely makes enormous donations to the Democrats in Washington to ensure a “favorable investment climate” in Guatemala and other Carribean nations. In past, the US government has unilaterally imposed over one billion dollars in trade sanctions on the EU for giving priviledged market access to the poorer banana producing nations in the Carribean. They’re still at it Guatemala, going to bat for US shareholders in attempt to capture more of the EU market, spending billions of dollars, but failing to address the issues of poverty and corruption that plague the country where they have set up shop.
A recent article in Latin America Press included details from a report by UN Human Rights advisor, Philip Alston. Alston describes Guatemala as an “ideal place to commit murder” because of rampant corruption, impunity and the reliance on extra-judicial and summary legal action on behalf of “rogue” police forces. In 2005, there were over 5,400 murders in Guatemala and only 1% of cases will result in conviction, largely due to dilapidated institutions that suffer from insufficient state funding. Police enforcers are combining extra-judicial murder with brutal torture to send the message to youth gangs and mafia members that the law is to be feared and treated like any other group involved in systemic violence. Wow. The article really brings to light the lasting impacts of the “US-assisted” civil war that lasted 36 years until the 1996 Peace Treaty. And over what? Bananas. Protecting us from Communist invasion. How different would Guatemala be today if the US’ worst fears actually materialized and a Communist government came to power and then spread across the region? The natural alliance with Castro would have presumably created governments with similar objectives and social policies and the entire bloc would have become internally stronger. Conversely, had the Bay of Pigs actually succeeded Cuba might look a lot like Guatemala today since its social and political climate at the time of the revolution was nearly identical to that in Guatemala. The most disturbing part of the article was that recent polls show that a majority of the population support social cleansing tactics, showing that fear continues to grip a desperate citizenry.
To access this article in full you will have to obtain a trial access code, which can be done through a link at the bottom of the homepage and is good for three weeks. Search for "A Recipe for Crime" from September 21, 2006. Link to Article
last301
When the United Fruit Company dissolved it was replaced by Chiquita Brands International, another US-based company with tremendous lobbying power that routinely makes enormous donations to the Democrats in Washington to ensure a “favorable investment climate” in Guatemala and other Carribean nations. In past, the US government has unilaterally imposed over one billion dollars in trade sanctions on the EU for giving priviledged market access to the poorer banana producing nations in the Carribean. They’re still at it Guatemala, going to bat for US shareholders in attempt to capture more of the EU market, spending billions of dollars, but failing to address the issues of poverty and corruption that plague the country where they have set up shop.
A recent article in Latin America Press included details from a report by UN Human Rights advisor, Philip Alston. Alston describes Guatemala as an “ideal place to commit murder” because of rampant corruption, impunity and the reliance on extra-judicial and summary legal action on behalf of “rogue” police forces. In 2005, there were over 5,400 murders in Guatemala and only 1% of cases will result in conviction, largely due to dilapidated institutions that suffer from insufficient state funding. Police enforcers are combining extra-judicial murder with brutal torture to send the message to youth gangs and mafia members that the law is to be feared and treated like any other group involved in systemic violence. Wow. The article really brings to light the lasting impacts of the “US-assisted” civil war that lasted 36 years until the 1996 Peace Treaty. And over what? Bananas. Protecting us from Communist invasion. How different would Guatemala be today if the US’ worst fears actually materialized and a Communist government came to power and then spread across the region? The natural alliance with Castro would have presumably created governments with similar objectives and social policies and the entire bloc would have become internally stronger. Conversely, had the Bay of Pigs actually succeeded Cuba might look a lot like Guatemala today since its social and political climate at the time of the revolution was nearly identical to that in Guatemala. The most disturbing part of the article was that recent polls show that a majority of the population support social cleansing tactics, showing that fear continues to grip a desperate citizenry.
To access this article in full you will have to obtain a trial access code, which can be done through a link at the bottom of the homepage and is good for three weeks. Search for "A Recipe for Crime" from September 21, 2006. Link to Article
last301
posted by Spencer at 10:07 AM
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