The history of every country in Latin America has witnessed military coups carried out directly by or under the influence of the United States. US foreign policy has always sought ways to intervene economically, politically, ideologically and, moreover, militarily in Latin American countries, which it sees as its “backyard.” These interventions have also been supported by national and international law. The most characteristic example of the symbolization of the role of capital in these coup processes, where a state of emergency regime is established by suspending local law, is the interventionist role of the United Fruit Company in the political regimes of the countries in which it operates. The company has played various roles in military coups that took place in many Latin American countries, especially in Guatemala, Honduras and Colombia, from the planning stage to financing, from cooperation with local elements to the direct management of the military process. The relationship between United Fruit and the military coups that took place in South America is worth examining as it is a very clear example of cooperation between imperialist policies and international capital. In this context, the study will primarily examine the nature of international capital and its development in the process of imperialism, which is a special phase of capitalism, the political and, to the extent that it is inherent in politics, legal effects of international capital institutions other than their economic characteristics, and the basic characteristics of the United Fruit Company, its identity related to neo-colonialism and its role in the states of emergency/coup periods in countries affected by the imperialist policies of the USA, as a capital giant monopolized in a very wide geography, will be examined in the context of the USA’s foreign policy focused on domination towards Latin America. In this sense, the initial and development processes of some coup examples in which United Fruit played a role and had a direct effect on the suspension of the implementation of national law will be emphasized, and it will be tried to reveal that a new system that emerged as a result of monopolization and international companies, which are a result of this system, are political subjects with not only economic but also ideological, social and legal effects.
international capital international corporations imperialism neocolonialism united fruit company
This study aims to demonstrate the influence of United Fruit Company, which had its golden age in the early twentieth century and had economic operations at monopoly level primarily in agriculture and in various other fields such as transportation, logistics, etc. in many countries of the American continent, on the social and economic structure of these countries, based on the relation between international companies and imperialist policies. History of every country in Latin America witnessed coups made directly by or under the influence of the United States of America. US foreign policy has always searched for ways of economical, political, ideological and even military interventions with Latin American countries, which it has considered as its “backyard”. Democratic political regimes of the targeted countries and legal systems which regulate these regimes have also been included in these interventions.
The concepts of international capital and foreign capital emerged at the beginning of the nineteenth century, together with the extraordinary advancement of industrial production, with production shifting to ever larger factories and rapidly accelerating accumulation of capital and its concentration in certain centres, which are all in accordance with the characteristics of capitalism. Due to rapid concentration of capital in Germany, the USA, Japan and in Britain resulted in the concentration of the supposedly “free competition” environment for economy (that was supposed be created by capitalism) within certain centres as well, as a consequence of the internal dynamics of capitalism, together with the concentration of production and hence the concentration of capital accumulation in those centres; and this concentration brought in monopolization by means of both the combination of various industrial branches within same large factories and the concentration of these large factories within certain geographical centres. “Monopolistic capitalism”, which came into existence as a consequence of capital accumulation and the concentration of this accumulation in certain central countries, in certain corporations and institutions, resulted in the formation of new economic and political conditions for all of the world. The search for new markets, raw materials and low-cost workforce led to the formation of international companies and the emergence of the concept of foreign capital. Companies whose headquarters were located in developed countries not only conducted economic operations in the countries that they regarded as their markets, but also manipulated those national markets by any means possible in order to secure their own economic interests. Within this context, United Fruit Company, whose founders and executives include US bureaucrats and intelligence professionals, has been a means of the execution of US foreign policy which has always had geopolitical, economic and political objectives in Latin America and actively participated in coups against political regimes of Latin American countries, in every country on the continent, beginning from the early twentieth century. In relation to these coups during which a state of emergency regime was established by means of suspending the local legal system, one of the most characteristic examples which symbolizes the role of capitalists in the process is this active participation of United Fruit Company. Large agricultural estates, transportation and infrastructure systems possessed by the company in the targeted countries were the means by which the company was able to take action easily in line with US interests. In addition to these, local parties who benefit from the company’s economic utilities cooperated with these policies and were mobilized to suppress anti USA movements by using violence. The company undertook various roles in the coups ranging from the planning to the financement of coups, from cooperation with local parties to direct execution of the military process, in many Latin American countries, primarily in Guatemala, Honduras and Colombia. Similarly, the company also made a number of unsuccessful attempts against the socialist regime established in Cuba as well. The relation between United Fruit Company and the military coups in Latin America is worth studying due to its obviously explicit example of the cooperation of international capital and imperialist policies. In this regard, this study primarily investigates the characteristics of international capital and its development through imperialism, which is a special level of capitalism; also primarily investigates the political and politically included legal influence of international capitalist institutions and corporations besides their economic characteristics; and examines the fundamental characteristics of the United Fruit Company, its identity in relation to neo-colonialism and its role as a giant capitalist monopoly within a wide region during the periods of states of emergency or of coups within the countries that are affected by the USA’s imperialist policies, based on the domination oriented foreign policy of the USA. In this regard, this study attempts to demonstrate that international companies, which emerged as a consequence of a new system that resulted from monopolization, are not only economic entities but also political agents exercising ideological, social and legal influences, through the examination of a number of cases involving the beginning and development of coups during which United Fruit Company played a role and directly affected the suspension of the execution of national law.