As a result, left-wing guerrilla uprisings mushroomed all over Latin America, followed by even more US-backed paramilitaries and death squads, and thus began a cycle of civil wars and dictatorial overthrows that continued until the fall of the communist bloc. In these countries, United Fruit paid extremely low wages and close to zero taxes. With the help of their buddies in the CIA, and some well-intentioned and not-so-well-intentioned American presidents, United Fruit created countless US-friendly military dictatorships throughout the tropics dedicated to growing bananas. The terms has its origins in the United Fruit Company (known today as Chiquita), an honest-to-god Mega-Corp with a Corrupt Corporate Executive approach. As a result, the GDP and living standards plummet-except within El Presidente's luxurious compound, where imported champagne flows like water. Business investors flee this corrupt regime, because you never know when your firm will be "nationalized" by the government and your assets seized. The few public servants are corrupt cronies who will only do anything if you offer a bribe. The exception is the military, which is the one government unit that gets a steady paycheck (because the military keeps the leader in power). The main goal of the government leaders is self-enrichment, so public services-policing, garbage disposal, and health care- are barely provided. Their regime glorifies the military, so leaders act like The Generalissimo and wear dress officer's uniforms with rows of medals-even if they didn't earn the rank. The dictator and cronies mismanage the country and treat it like their personal bank for paying for Conspicuous Consumption and lavish lifestyles. The leader is often a military officer who took power through The Coup and then appointed unqualified cronies to government positions. For added atmosphere, listen to this while reading.Īny backwards Latin American country, usually fictitious, that is ruled by a small corrupt clique.
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