37th Meeting of the Latin American Executive Committee of the IUF

Next Dec. 6 will mark the 82^nd anniversary of the Ciénaga workers’ massacre, committed in 1928 in Colombia by the United Fruit Company, now Chiquita Brands. This atrocious crime is brilliantly reported in the book “Masacre en las Bananeras,” written by sociologist Carlos Payares González. IUF Latin America signed an agreement with several labor organizations to launch a new edition and distribute it worldwide. Sirel spoke with the author.
 

Colombia’s United Workers Federation (CUT), the National Agro-Food Union of Colombia (UNAC), the Argentinean Union of Rural Workers and Stevedores (UATRE), the National Union of Agroindustry Workers of Colombia (SINTRAINAGRO), and Rel-UITA (IUF Latin America) have signed an agreement to publish an updated edition of Carlos Payares González’ account of the massacre and distribute it broadly nationally and internationally.

-Where does the idea for this book originate?

-In 2008 we felt we needed to commemorate the 80^th anniversary of the strike staged by United Fruit Company workers in the department of Magdalena, Colombia, and the subsequent massacre committed by that company.

The aim of the book is not just to present the bare facts of what happened; it is also an attempt to recreate the conditions and atmosphere of the time in which these events occurred, retrieving on paper the lives of the different social actors involved, and providing a dynamic content that covers economic, political, social, and cultural aspects.

-A work not to be forgotten…

-Exactly, as it recovers the historical memory of banana workers and the area’s social or collective memory; that is, it shows the fundamental role played by popular sectors of the population, which is often erased from mainstream history books. The intention is for this to be a “wakeup call” for all those who never heard of these events or who have forgotten them.

-It is also a way to prevent us from forgetting what the passage of the United Fruit Company through Latin America meant for the continent, and what transnational corporations are still doing today…

-What the United Fruit Company, now Chiquita Brands, did throughout Latin America is in a sense what transnational corporations are still doing today, although in a somewhat more subtle and camouflaged manner.

Today it is national states that, through norms and regulations that did not exist 80 years ago, are allowing large transnational corporations to do the same thing the United Fruit Company did back then; only now they’re doing it “legally.”

The United Fruit Company’s history marks the beginning of the continent’s neo-colonialist or enclave era. It’s the history of horror in economy and politics, of despotic power, and state manipulation. And it’s the history of how democracy was an obstacle to the interests of U.S. financial capital and large corporations.

Capitalism has not changed in essence, and neither have the demands of social sectors that are fighting for a decent life. These companies have only changed their names, and they basically represent the same interests, which result in the same violence, the same repression, and the same retaliation against workers.  The history of the United Fruit Company is part of the history of Latin America.

-Rel-UITA and a group of other labor organizations have decided to launch a new edition of your book and distribute it worldwide. How important is this decision?

-I’m very surprised, and it is an honor for me that organizations committed to their people’s struggles are recognizing this effort to recover the historical and social memory of an episode that marked Latin American history.