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For other uses, see Banana republic (disambiguation).

Banana republic is a pejorative term for a small, often Latin American, Caribbean or African country that is politically unstable, dependent on limited agriculture, and ruled by a small, self-elected, wealthy and corrupt clique.^{[citation needed]} In most cases they have kept the government structures that were modeled after the colonial Spanish ruling clique, with a small, largely leisure class on the top and a large, poorly educated and poorly paid working class of peons. The term was coined by O. Henry, an American humorist and short story writer, in reference to Honduras. "Republic" in his time was often a euphemism for a dictatorship, while "banana" implied an easy reliance on basic agriculture and backwardness in the development of modern industrial technology. Frequently the subject of mockery and humour, and usually presided over by a dictatorial military junta that exaggerates its own power and importance—"the epaulettes of a banana republic generalissimo" are proverbially of considerable size, usually portrayed in satire with a pair of mops—a banana republic also typically has large wealth and income inequities, poor infrastructure, poor schools, a backward economy, low capital spending, a reliance on foreign capital and money printing, budget deficits, and a weakening currency. Banana Republics are typically also highly prone to revolutions and coups. Image File history File links Emblem-important. ... Look up banana republic in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with pejoration. ... Latin America consists of the countries of South America and some of North America (including Central America and some the islands of the Caribbean) whose inhabitants mostly speak Romance languages, although Native American languages are also spoken. ... “West Indian” redirects here. ... World map showing location of Africa A satellite composite image of Africa Africa is the worlds second_largest continent in both area and population, after Asia. ... The Spanish colonization of the Americas began with the arrival in the Western Hemisphere of Christopher Columbus (Cristóbal Colón) in 1492. ... Look up peon, peón in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... William Sydney Porter in his thirties O. Henry is the pen name of American writer William Sydney Porter (September 11, 1862 – June 5, 1910). ... Epaulette [pronunciation: Ä•p-ǝ-lÄ•t], a French word meaning little shoulders (epaule, referring to shoulder), is an ornamental shoulder piece or decoration used as insignia or rank by military or other organizations. ... Generalissimo Francisco de Miranda Generalissimo or Generalissimus is a military rank of the highest degree, superior to a Field Marshal or Grand Admiral. ... For other uses, see Revolution (disambiguation). ... A coup détat, or simply a coup, is the sudden overthrow of a government, usually done by a small group that just replaces the top power figures. ...

Background

It was in Honduras that the United Fruit and Standard Fruit companies dominated the country's key banana export sector and support sectors such as railways. The United Fruit Company was nicknamed "The Octopus" for its willingness to involve itself in politics, sometimes violently. In 1910, Sam Zemurray, who 22 years later would take over United Fruit in a hostile bid, hired a gang of armed toughs from New Orleans to help stage a coup in Honduras in order to obtain beneficial treatment from the new government for his own banana-trading company, Cuyamel Fruit. Four decades later, the directors of United Fruit played a role in convincing the Truman and Eisenhower administrations that the government of Colonel Arbenz in Guatemala was secretly pro-Soviet, thus contributing to the CIA's decision to assist in overthrowing Arbenz's government in 1954 (see Operation PBSUCCESS). Pablo Neruda would later denounce the dominance of foreign-owned banana producers in the politics of several Latin American countries in a poem titled "La United Fruit Co." It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Chiquita Brands International. ... Now named Dole Food Company, Standard Fruit Company was established in 1924 by the Vaccaro Brothers. ... Year 1910 (MCMX) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Friday [1] of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... Samuel Zemurray (January 18, 1877-November 30, 1961) was a U.S. businessman. ... A takeover in business refers to one company (the acquirer, or bidder) purchasing another (the target). ... New Orleans is the largest city in the state of Louisiana, United States of America. ... For other persons named Harry Truman, see Harry Truman (disambiguation). ... Dwight David Eisenhower (October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American General and politician, who served as the thirty-fourth President of the United States (1953–1961). ... Jacobo Arbenz Guzmán with his wife Maria Colonel Jacobo Arbenz Guzmán (September 14, 1913 – January 27, 1971) was president of Guatemala from 1951 to 1954, when he was ousted in a coup détat organized by the US Central Intelligence Agency, known as Operation PBSUCCESS, and was replaced... “CCCP” redirects here. ... “CIA” redirects here. ... Year 1954 (MCMLIV) was a common year (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Former president Jacobo Arbenz Guzmán on the cover of TIME magazine in June 1954 after his overthrow Operation PBSUCCESS was a CIA-organized covert operation that overthrew the democratically-elected President of Guatemala, Jacobo Arbenz Guzmán in 1954. ... Pablo Neruda (July 12, 1904 – September 23, 1973) was the penname and, later, legal name of the Chilean writer and communist politician Ricardo Eliecer Neftalí Reyes Basoalto. ...

Modern usage

In modern usage the term has come to be used to describe a generally unstable or "backward" dictatorial regime, especially one where elections are often fraudulent and corruption is rife. By extension, the word is occasionally applied to governments where a strong leader hands out appointments and advantages to friends and supporters, without much consideration for the law. A Banana republic can also be used to describe a country where a large part of its economy and politics are controlled by foreign powers or even corporations.

To some banana hobbyists located in the colder non-tropical growing areas, the term could also mean the warmest or most humid part of the province, country, growing area or locality.^{[citation needed]}

Some Central American countries, like Belize, that export bananas to a specific client or set of clients as part of a continual agreement or previously agreed price are not banana republics in the way the phrase is defined above.

Australia

On 14 May 1986, the then Treasurer of Australia, Paul Keating, remarked during a radio interview with John Laws that Australia was becoming a banana republic, referring to the size of the foreign debt relative to GDP. May 14 is the 134th day of the year (135th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1986 (MCMLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link displays 1986 Gregorian calendar). ... The Department of the Treasury, Canberra The Australian Treasurer is the minister responsible for government expenditure and revenue raising. ... For other persons named Paul Keating, see Paul Keating (disambiguation). ... Richard John Sinclair Laws, better known as John Laws, CBE (born 8 August 1935) is a prominent and controversial radio presenter in Australia, whose mellifluous voice earned him the nickname the Golden Tonsils. Since the 1970s Laws has hosted a hugely successful morning radio program, which mixes music with interviews... ). External debt is the part of a countrys debt owed to creditors outside the country. ...

United Kingdom

In 2005, Judge Richard Mawrey in the United Kingdom quashed results of election of two local councils after it was proved that there was widespread fraud and vote-rigging during the election. In response to the administration assertion that the Postal Voting system was functioning properly he said, "Anybody who has sat through the case I have just tried and listened to evidence of electoral fraud that would disgrace a banana republic would find this statement surprising."[1] Richard Mawrey is a judge in the United Kingdom. ...

In September 2007, CBI President Richard Lambert slammed the government and City authorities, blaming them for the Northern Rock crisis, claiming the run on the bank was "something that happens in a banana republic". Northern Rock (LSE: NRK) is a British bank based at Regent Centre near Newcastle Upon Tyne in northern England. ...

In literature

• San Theodoros and Nuevo Rico are fictional South American banana republics in the world of The Adventures of Tintin that display all the stereotypes one might expect of such countries. For instance, San Theodoros is constantly limping from revolution to revolution (often fueled by outside agents); and when Tintin first lands in San Theodoros, he immediately gets bestowed the rank of colonel in the army, leading to a protest of one of the many other colonels, because there are only ten corporals in the army. One of the main contenders for power, General Tapioca, is supported by an outside power based on Stalin's USSR; the other, General Alcazar, is supported by the "United Banana Co."

• O. Henry's book of linked short stories Cabbages and Kings (1904), in which the term "banana republic" first appeared, is set in the fictional republic of Anchuria—a thinly disguised Honduras.

• Joseph Conrad's 1904 novel Nostromo is set in Costaguana, a fictional South American banana republic that is also prone to revolution. Much political power is held by a foreign mining company.

• Leslie Charteris's character The Saint uses guile and his art of disguise to overthrow a corrupt and oppressive banana republic in one of his stories.^{[citation needed]} In it, he sometimes poses as an old man who creates and trains a rebel army of saboteurs that brings the villains to their knees. In true Saint fashion, after he rescues his love interest and her father from the clutches of the dictator, the elated peasants march through the streets singing the "international song of freedom" he had taught them: "I've Got a Luverly Bunch of Coconuts".

• Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut largely takes place in a fictional banana republic, the island of San Lorenzo.

• In DC Comics, the Caribbean island nation of Santa Prisca is subject to political turmoil caused by the competition of powerful local drug lords and a violent military junta.

• Ciudad Barranquilla, the South American equivalent of the Mega-Cities in Judge Dredd, is a stereotyped banana republic. The residents of Mega-City One refer to it as "Banana City".

• Kirk Anderson's cartoon series Banana Republic [2] satirizes American and Minnesota politics in strips set in "Amnesia, the small backward Third World nation with hearts of silver and mines of gold".

• Gabriel García Márquez's novel One Hundred Years of Solitude (particularly chapters 12 through 16) narrates the influences of a banana company's disproportionate influence on the local and national governments and the subsequent ruin it brings to the fictional town of Macondo, Colombia. The majority of the banana workers are eventually massacred, drawing comparisons to similar events in Colombia and other Latin American countries.

Flag of San Theodoros San Theodoros is a fictional South American country in the adventures of Tintin. ... Flag of Nuevo Rico Nuevo Rico is a fictional South American country in the adventures of Tintin. ... The main characters and others from The Castafiore Emerald, one of the later books The Adventures of Tintin (French: ) is a series of Belgian comic books created by Belgian artist Hergé, the pen name of Georges Remi (1907–1983). ... General Tapioca General Tapioca is a fictional character from The Adventures of Tintin series of classic comic books drawn and written by Hergé. He is the arch-enemy of Tintins friend General Alcazar. ... Iosif (usually anglicized as Joseph) Vissarionovich Stalin (Russian: Иосиф Виссарионович Сталин), original name Ioseb Jughashvili (Georgian: იოსებ ჯუღაშვი&#4314... Tintin and General Alcazar, from the Swedish edition of Tintin and the Picaros. ... William Sydney Porter in his thirties O. Henry is the pen name of American writer William Sydney Porter (September 11, 1862 – June 5, 1910). ... // Joseph Conrad (born Teodor Józef Konrad NaÅ‚Ä™cz-Korzeniowski, 3 December 1857 – 3 August 1924) was a Polish-born novelist who spent most of his adult life in Britain. ... Nostromo is a 1904 novel by Polish-born British novelist Joseph Conrad, set in the fictitious South American republic of Costaguana. ... Leslie Charteris (May 12, 1907, Singapore–April 15, 1993), born Leslie Charles Bowyer-Yin, was a half-Chinese, half English author of primarily mystery fiction, as well as a screenwriter. ... The Saint refers to the fictional character created by Leslie Charteris in one of the following contexts: Simon Templar, the character also known as The Saint (main article on this topic) The Saint (TV series), a TV series that ran from 1962 to 1969, starring Roger Moore as Simon Templar. ... For the string game, see Cats cradle. ... Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. ... The Republic of San Lorenzo is a fictional country from the Kurt Vonnegut satire Cats Cradle (1963), where much of the books second half takes place. ... DC Comics is an American comic book and related media company. ... Santa Prisca is a fictional country appearing in DC Comics, and is best known as the birthplace of the Batman villain Bane . ... Cuidad Barranquilla, also known as Banana City, is a huge fictional city covering much of Central America in the Judge Dredd comic book series. ... For the 1995 film, see Judge Dredd (film). ... Mega-City One is a huge fictional city-state covering much of what is now the Eastern United States in the Judge Dredd comic book series. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... One Hundred Years of Solitude (Spanish: Cien años de soledad) is a novel by Nobel Prize winning Colombian author Gabriel García Márquez that was first published in Spanish in 1967 (Buenos Aires: Sudamericana), with an English translation by Gregory Rabassa released in 1970 (New York: Harper and...

In games

• The board game Junta is based on a banana republic.
• The computer game Tropico simulates a Carribbean island, which the player rules as "El Presidente".

Junta is a Machiavellian board game designed by Vincent Tsao. ... Tropico is a real-time strategy computer game developed by PopTop Software and published by Gathering of Developers in April 2001[1]. The game sees the player taking the role of El Presidente, the ruler of an island in the Caribbean during the Cold War era from the 1950s onward. ...

In film

• Most of Woody Allen's 1971 movie Bananas takes place in the fictional republic of "San Marcos", where Allen's character eventually ends up as the country's dictator.
• In the film Moon Over Parador, Richard Dreyfuss plays an American actor who is forced by the head of Parador's secret police (played by Raul Julia) to impersonate Parador's recently deceased dictator.
• Part of the Canadian film Elvis Gratton takes place in the fictional "Republica de Santa Banana".

Woody Allen (born Allen Stewart Königsberg on December 1, 1935) is a three-time Academy Award-winning American film director, writer, actor, jazz musician, comedian, and playwright. ... Year 1971 (MCMLXXI) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar) of the 1971 Gregorian calendar. ... Bananas is a film written, directed, and starring Woody Allen and Louise Lasser in 1971. ... Fictional Latin American republic loosely based on Cuba, featured in ‘Bananas’, the 1971 Woody Allen comedy. ... Moon Over Parador is a (1988) romantic comedy film, starring Richard Dreyfuss, Raul Julia and Sofia Braga. ... Richard Stephen Dreyfuss (born October 29, 1947) is an Academy Award-winning American actor. ... Raúl Rafael Juliá y Arcelay (March 9, 1940 - October 24, 1994) was a Puerto Rican actor who lived and worked for many years in the United States. ... Elvis Gratton is the subject of multiple films of the same name by Quebec director Pierre Falardeau. ...

In music

• "Banana Republics" is the title of a Jimmy Buffett song, released in 1974 on the Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitude album.
• Banana republics were mentioned in the song "Stars and Stripes of Corruption" by the Dead Kennedys.
• The Boomtown Rats wrote a song called "Banana Republic" [3] which criticized the Republic of Ireland.
• The song "Libérez-nous des libéraux" by the Quebec City hip hop group Loco Locass includes the lyrics "Oh viva Canada!! Banana Republica!!"

Jimmy Buffett (born James William Buffett on December 25, 1946, in Pascagoula, Mississippi) is a singer, songwriter, author, businessman, and recently a film producer best known for his island escapism lifestyle and music including hits such as Margaritaville (No. ... The Dead Kennedys (often known by their initials DK, as in decay) are a punk band from San Francisco, California. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Nickname: Motto: Don de Dieu feray valoir (I shall put Gods gift to good use; the Don de Dieu was Champlains ship) Coordinates: , Country Province Agglomeration Quebec City Statute of the city Capitale-Nationale Administrative Region Capitale-Nationale Founded 1608 by Samuel de Champlain Constitution date 1833 Government... Hip hop music is a style of music which came into existence in the United States during the mid-1970s, and became a large part of modern pop culture during the 1980s. ... Loco Locass, founded en 1995, is a Quebec City hip hop group. ...

See also

• Absurdistan
• Kangaroo court

Absurdistan is a term sometimes used to satirically describe a country in which absurdity is the norm, especially in its public authorities and government. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

External links

• Cabbages and Kings - O. Henry novel which coined the term