Abstract
The poetry of Chilean poet Pablo Neruda evolved from symbolist, to surrealist and eventually to realist. But his poem United Fruit Co. is a union of these three styles. This creative approach in writing has resulted in the poem being one of the most well-known criticisms of American imperialism in Latin America.
Pablo Neruda: Poetry and Politics
The works of Chilean poet Pablo Neruda (1904-1973) were characterized with a thematic evolution from early erotic poetry that focused on his personal passions to poetry that expressed his political opinions. The style, meanwhile, shifted from symbolist (the usage of symbols or suggestions to express ideas, feelings and values) to surrealist (emphasis on the unconscious) and later on to realist (the adaptation of simpler expressions) (MSN Encarta, 2008). Neruda’s poem United Fruit Co., however, is a combination of these three styles. Despite being written using different approaches, it frankly and clearly presented the suffering of Latin America under imperialism.
United Fruit Co.
Neruda’s poem United Fruit Co. (1950) lamented the exploitation that Latin American countries suffered under the North American corporations that established branches in the continent. He entitled the poem as such because the United Fruit Company was considered the epitome of American imperialism in Central America. Aside from enjoying enormous privilages in the region, it also received strong government support in dealing with labor unrest. United Fruit Co. operated on the premise that the United Fruit Company and the authoritarian governments of Central America were natural allies due to their opposition to organized unionism (Bucheli, 2006).
Arrogance and Disrespect
The poem starts with a biblical tone, giving off an epic or mythical feeling as a result. This was intended to sarcastically describe the arrogance of North America through its icons of consumerism such as Coca-Cola, Ford Motors and the United Fruit Company. The quasi-religious language was also meant to expose how these enterprises used democracy to justify their anomalous policies in Latin America (Hawkins, n.d.). North American propaganda “baptized” Latin American countries as “Banana Republics” – a derogatory term for small, backward, poor and unstable countries that have submissive relationships with the United States (Bucheli, 2006). This phrase is unflattering in the sense that implies that a country must sell out its resources to the United States in order to achieve a more modernized and democratic level of existence (Hawkins, n.d.).
Neruda further criticized the arrogance of North America in United Fruit Co. by invoking the memory of dead ancestors. He pointed out that North American firms are so greedy and profit-driven that they will not bother erecting their operations even on gravesites. Worse, Latin American governments will readily turn against their people just to win the support of these businesses. For Neruda, this was a severe insult to the heroes who died fighting for freedom in Latin American countries (Hawkins, n.d.).
Bitter Fruit
The tone of United Fruit Co. then shifted to the usage of imagery and language associated with fruit as an extended metaphor to depict the plight of Latin America. Neruda believed that Latin America is a fresh fruit that North America consumes then carelessly discards to the waste pile to rot. This revolted him so much that he likened the plundering of Latin America to the act of rape. Neruda illustrated these arguments in United Fruit Co. by describing Latin America as “juicy” and “sweet” and using the hips of a woman as a metaphor for the Chilean coast (Hawkins, n.d.).
Other Symbolisms.
Aside from fruit, Neruda used other symbolisms to vividly describe how Washington, North American firms and Latin American dictators exploited Latin America’s natural resources and brutally oppressed its people. The phrase “imperial crowns” referred to the United States – a country that is regarded as the bastion of imperialism. Neruda coined the phrase “comic opera” to represent the puppet governments in Latin America. These administrations were installed and or supported by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in order to safeguard US interests in the continent. Neruda hated these governments so much that he compared them to flies.
The United Fruit Company and the fall of the Arbenz Government
The event that most probably served as the direct link between the United Fruit Company and American imperialism was the CIA-engineered coup that overthrew the democratically-elected President Jacobo Arbenz of Guatemala in 1954. Arbenz earned the ire of Washington for planning to implement modest land reform – a policy that did not sit well with the United Fruit Company. By 1952, the United States had started providing weapons, money and training to Guatemalan opposition forces and mercenaries (CPCW, 2007).
Arbenz resigned from the presidency on June 27, 1954. After he and his top aides fled the country, Castillo Armas assumed the presidency with the support of CIA. Armas’ regime was notorious for violent and repression – during his term, anyone who was suspected of being a “communist” or a “communist sympathizer” was rounded up and killed. According to human rights groups, successive military governments in Guatemala resulted in the deaths of more than 100,000 persons between 1954 and 1990 (Doyle and Kornbluh, n.d.).
In May 2007, the CIA declassified the reports regarding its participation in the coup. The reports revealed that the CIA trained assassins to kill 58 individuals that Washington included in a “disposal list” (CPCW, 2007). One of the released documents was “a 22-page how-to manual on murder” (CPCW, 2007). This “manual” actually detailed the different ways of killing a person through various weapons and strategies. Furthermore, the “manual” added that those in the “disposal list” will be subjected to “nerve war,” such as death threats and frame-ups (CPCW, 2007).
Conclusion
It has often been said that the pen is mightier than the sword. This saying probably stemmed from the fact that a writer, especially a poet, has a wider audience and can exert more influence than a warrior. Instead of writing from the “ivory tower,” Neruda opted to use his poetry to write about society’s ills. In doing so, his works became timeless long after his death.
References
Bucheli, M. University of Illinois at Urbana – Champaign, College of Business. (2006). Good
Dictator, Bad Dictator: United Fruit Company and Economic Nationalism in Central
America in the Twentieth Century. Retrieved July 2, 2008, from
www.business.uiuc.edu/working_papers/papers
Doyle, K. & Kornbluh, P. The National Security Archive, The Gelman Library – George
Washington University. (n.d.). CIA and Assassinations: The Guatemala 1954
Documents. Retrieved July 4, 2008, from http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB4/
Hawkins, J. DFW International. (n.d.). An Analysis of “La United Fruit Company” de Pablo
Neruda. Retrieved July 2, 2008, from http://www.dfwinternational.org/_content/media/neruda/
MSN Encarta. (2008). Pablo Neruda. Retrieved July 3, 2008, from http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761552574/Pablo_Neruda.html
The Center for Programs in Contemporary Writing (CPCW). (2007, June 23). CIA Involved
in Guatemala Coup, 1954. Retrieved July 4, 2008, from http://www.writing.upenn.edu/~afilreis/50s/guatemala.html
