Rotten to the corp

[UJ]( [Mail & Guardian Newsletter logo](#) [mg.co.za]( [The Ampersand Daily Newsletter from the M&G team](#) [Divider Strip] October 20 2020 | [View in browser]( [Divider Strip] [Facebook icon]( [Twitter icon]( [Instagram icon]( [LinkedIn icon]( Hi there, Like so many commodities, the import of bananas began with colonialism. After that came the conglomerates who soon replaced states in the role of coloniser. [United Fruit]( began life in the 1870s when Minor Cooper Keith, a wealthy young New Yorker, started growing bananas alongside a railway line he was building in Costa Rica. It would go on to become one of the first truly multinational modern corporations, spreading the spirit of liberal capitalism by dominating business and politics in Central America. In addition to harvesting the region's fruit, the company wielded formidable influence over small nations, which were often ruled by corrupt dictatorships. United Fruit gave the world not just bananas, but also "banana republics". Initially, the Honduran government blocked United Fruit from entering the country. But in 1911, one of United Fruit's business partners [financed and organised its overthrow](. It marked the beginning of a history of "regime changes" in the [interests of the banana trade](. In 1954, United Fruit devised a plan to get rid of the Guatemalan government. The democratically elected government had taken some of United Fruit's large areas of unused land to give to peasant farmers. The company called up newspaper contacts who might be amenable to its view, sending journalists on "fact finding" jaunts to Central America and, in particular, Guatemala, where they chased made up stories of gunfire and bombs. In their reporting, the country became a place in the grip of "communist terror" and instability. It's been quite an eventful year in Bolivia. While, as of writing, the official election results are yet to be formally announced, Luis Arce -- successor and ally of Evo Morales -- [has declared victory](. His rival, the United States-backed President Jeanine Anez, [has conceded defeat](. The defining election comes a year after Morales had been forced from power and the interim government of Anez installed. Morales, a hugely popular figure through much of his tenure, had attempted through various avenues to pursue a fourth presidential term before the military had nudged him into resigning. His Movement for Socialism party unequivocally viewed the ousting as a coup. Given the American penchant for putting the boot in, its potential involvement in the transition of power has generated more than just whispers. One man not doing himself or his adopted country any favours in silencing those suggestions, is tech billionaire and former South African Elon Musk. In response to a suggestion that the US government orchestrated a coup in Bolivia so as to prevent the nationalisation of lithium -- which Tesla uses to power its electric vehicles -- [Musk tweeted]( "We will coup whoever we want! Deal with it." Usually quite vocal about violent regime change, Washington think tanks and prominent voices in the media were quick to defend the new government, citing Morales' alleged wrongdoing. This electoral win is a stinging rebuke to all of the nonsense that so many pundits spouted to excuse Morales's removal. This is a massive triumph for democracy in Bolivia. Liberal capitalism and neocolonialism are not democracy. Yours in solidarity, Kiri Rupiah & Luke Feltham [Divider Strip] [MG public servants]( [Divider Strip] [Gems]( [Divider Strip] [Facebook icon]( [Twitter icon]( [Instagram icon]( [LinkedIn icon]( You are receiving this email on {EMAIL} because 1.) You're a member of "Mail & Guardian" or 2.) previously subscribed [M&G logo] 25 Owl St, Braamfontein Werf, Johannesburg, 2092 Want to be removed? No problem! [UNSUBSCRIBE]( Email support: help@media-connect.co.za - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -