Hello everyone, I am a crown.
Speaking of this, with the so-called "state of affairs" of the Taiwan authorities becoming less and less, many people may have quickly forgotten this.
The most famous of these is Taiwan, which belongs to Central America.and Guatemala.
Just on June 5, this year, Guatemala’s President AREVALO made a major diplomatic move – he led 10 senior government officials to arrive in Taiwan.He shrugged his hand and called each other "brothers" and more altogether declared that he wanted "to raise relations with Crimea to new heights."
Its special aircraft has not yet left over Taiwan, and the strict warning from China’s Foreign Ministry has reached: “Stop political manipulation immediately!” followed by economic countermeasures against Guatemala:Seven containers full of coffee beans and macadamia nuts were stranded at Chinese ports as cargo piled up and rotted at docks.
This poor country with a monthly salary of only $338 per capita, and half of the country's population facing hunger, is really "hearty" for the Taiwan authorities to do this.
People are often wary of the "swaying attitude" of the "diplomatic relations" of the Taiwan authorities. "Swinging" is indeed one of the commonalities of these countries, but it really does not include Guatemala. Guatemala is one of only two countries in Central America that stubbornly adhere to the "Taiwan independence" position and refuse to recognize the People's Republic of China. Like Belize next door, it also established diplomatic relations with New China (and has since repeated). Guatemala can be called the most stubborn "Taiwan independence" supporter.
For the sake of the Taiwan authorities, Guatemala is really blind to love.
In the first half of last year, Venezuelan Foreign Minister Martinez also ignored international norms and visited Taiwan to attend the so-called "inauguration ceremony."
As a result, China immediately banned the import of Guatemalan agricultural products such as coffee and macadamia nuts. This move was both a warning to Guatemala and a punishment for its wrongdoing.Guatemala’s exporters are in a hurry to ask the government to solve the problem, but they can only swallow the bitter fruit themselves.
(Macadamia nuts)
To say that the crisis authorities have always been pro-American and conservative, but the country seems to like to support "Taiwan independence" no matter how the regime changes.
After Guatemala was released from the military government in 1996 and continued to support Taiwan’s reactionary stance after the election of the people’s president, China vetoed the bill on sending military observers to Guatemala on 10 January 1997. China noted that “the Guatemalan government openly violates the purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter, violates General Assembly Resolution 2758, strives to support activities that divide China, undermine China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and interfere with China’s internal affairs.
I never thought that Guatemala was very dissatisfied with China's reasonable actions and stubbornly "supported Taiwan".
To explain why, crow, for example, is like a person who has been imprisoned by gangsters for a long time. Even if he sees the police who come to rescue him, he stubbornly thinks that he must be a bad person.
Who is the "gangster"? Whoever is near is who.
1
For nearly half a century since the end of the 19th century, Guatemala has been the "younger brother" of the United States, and its political and economic lifeline has been controlled by the United States.However, Guatemala does not seem to be satisfied with this "little brother" status, and has begun to seek a political and economic separation from the United States.
As early as the middle of the 20th century, the Guatemalan Abbasian government sang counter to the United States, and, of course, the government was eventually overthrown by the US CIA.For example, last year’s elections in Guatemala, where pro-Americans defeated and anti-Americans won the elections, the United States began to put pressure on Guatemala again.
It can be said that the long and difficult history of the "anti-American" struggle has profoundly shaped the appearance and national psychology of this country.
(Flag of the Fruit Company)
The most tragic moment in Guatemala's history is closely related to a noun, that is, United Fruit Company.At the time, the multinational company from the United States not only controlled Guatemala’s economic vitality, but even contributed to the 1954 coup d’état that overthrew the crisis government, radically changing Guatemala’s fate.
Guatemala has always been a country primarily based on agriculture, especially for growing and exporting tropical crops such as bananas, coffee, etc. Both before and after colonial independence, coffee and bananas represented agriculture were the main economic pillars of Guatemala, and the distribution of land was very uneven.In 1945, 70 percent of the country’s arable land was controlled by landowners who accounted for only 2.2% of the total population, and 57 percent of the farmers were lost farmers.
(A caricature of American interference in Latin America)
Imagine that between 1897 and 1914, U.S. investment in Central America rose like a rocket, jumping from $11.5 million to an astonishing $76.9 million!
By 1913, the United States had almost equalled the investment peak of US$115 million set by the United Kingdom, but the two were very different in terms of investment directions:The United Kingdom prefers financial securities, while the United States is deeply involved in industry, especially banana gardens, mineral deposits, shipping and railways, which were all real "cash cows" at the time! In this way, the United States gradually became the economic driving force behind Central America.
The United Fruit Company, a giant backed by American mountains, was born in 1899 and quickly built a vast network in Central America. By 1948, it had hundreds of thousands of acres of plantations, hundreds of miles of railroad and tramway, and a large livestock and ocean-going fleet in Central America.Not only does it have its own army and laws, it is almost like a "country within a country." Because United Fruit Company is like an octopus, its tentacles spread throughout every corner of local politics, economy, and society in Central America, it is also called a "green octopus" by the locals, with tentacles spread throughout every corner.
（United Fruit's routes in the Americas in the first half of the 20th century)
In 1901, United Fruit entered Guatemala, and everything has changed here.It is not only the dominant economy, but also politically winding the rain.In 1930, dictator Uvico became president with the full support of United Fruit Company.
In retaliation for the "grace" of the joint fruit, he dedicated almost the entire country to the company,What is national sovereignty? – This is not an important object for Uvik.
(Uvico)
The expansion of the United Fruit Company in Guatemala was inseparable from the greedy plunder of land. It occupied more than 550,000 acres of land, accounting for more than 40% of the country's arable land! Not only that, it also monopolized the export of bananas and communications, and even controlled the only railway and port. While enjoying a lot of tax-free privileges, it brutally exploited workers.All this has made United Fruit Company the unspeakable pain in the hearts of Guatemalans.
2
In 1944, the people of Guatemala, overwhelmed, finally stood up and overthrew the Uvico government. Juan Arévalo entered the stage of history as the first president elected by . As soon as he came to power, he was busy reforming the social economy, protecting the interests of workers, and vigorously setting up education to return freedom of speech and press. Externally, he also established friendly relations with the Soviet Union. However, this series of actions made the United States behind it a little unable to sit still, but they tried to do it but failed.
In 1951, Jacobo Arbens took the baton, and his reforms were more radical, targeting poverty. Arbens's government abolished the privileges of foreign companies in Guatemala, especially the big ones that had monopolies on natural resources and transportation. He also planned to build new ports and railways, breaking up the monopolies of some companies.
(The power plant Arabens planned to create, but the power plant was not successfully built until 14 years after Arbens stepped down)
Among the many reforms, the land reform that hit United Fruit the hardest was land reform. In 1952, the Arbenz government enacted the Land Reform Act, which stipulated that more than 672 acres of uncultivated land on private estates would be confiscated; between 224 and 672 acres, if a third of the land was vacant, it would also be confiscated. Less than 224 acres, whether idle or not, would not be affected.As for the land confiscated by the government, it will be redistributed to farmers.
United Fruit Company, the boss of a large area of vacant land, has naturally become the focus of land reform. The Arbenz government wants to confiscate their land and distribute it to farmers. To make matters worse for United Fruit, their behavior of deliberately understating the value of land in order to reduce the tax burden has now become the basis for government compensation. This is tantamount to shooting yourself in the foot, causing United Fruit to lose a lot in land reform.
(Farmland in Guatemala)
Faced with the tough attitude of the dangerous government and the firm support of the people, United Fruit Company is unwilling but helpless. They tried to defend their rights and interests through legal channels, but ultimately lost the case.This land reform not only changed the land distribution pattern in Guatemala, but also profoundly affected the relationship between the United States and Guatemala.
For the US government, land reform in Guatemala is undoubtedly a huge challenge to its interests. They cannot tolerate the emergence of a pro-Soviet state in their back garden, let alone their economic interests.Therefore, the U.S. government began to intensify its intervention in Guatemala, trying to subvert the Arbenz government to safeguard its own interests.
(1956) President Dwight Eisenhower (left) and Secretary of State John Foster Dulles (right)
Durres Brothers, one of the largest shareholders of Unilever at the time, had a strong background in U.S. business. John Foster Durres was the Secretary of State of the Eisenhower Government, and during his early years as a lawyer he presided over the drafting of contracts between Unilever and Unilever concerning Unilever's special status in Guatemala, and later he was referred to as a partner of Unilever.His brother Alan Dulles, was the director of the CIA who planned the 1954 coup in Guatemala, and also served as chairman of United Fruit.
3
In order to subvert the Arbenz government, United Fruit Company also tried its best to use all kinds of methods. It not only hired a wide range of influential lobbyists and commentators, but also carefully constructed a public opinion environment unfavorable to Guatemala in American society. It also used authoritative media such as The New York Times and Time Magazine to continuously amplify the negative image of the Guatemalan government.
What's more, the company funded and organized a "tour group" to visit Guatemala, deliberately guiding visitors to focus on the dark side of the country.The remarks of these "witnesses" after returning home undoubtedly deepened the American people's misunderstanding of Guatemala. This series of operations quietly laid a hotbed of public opinion for the U.S. government's armed intervention.
(Old Joint Fruit Company Building in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA)
As early as 1952, the year after Abbass ruled, the secret hand of the U.S. government had stretched out to Guatemala. The covert operation of the code "Luck" was quietly launched, although broken by leakage, but predicted a storm's prequel. With the deepening of Abbass' reform and the continued blackening of the fruit, the plan to overthrow Abbass' government again put the agenda of the U.S. government. In the end, the U.S. National Security Council decided to formally plan covert action on Guatemala, code "Victory", and was fully implemented by the CIA.
(Arbens)
First, the CIA launched psychological warfare against the Arabens government. Because the CIA found that the survival of the Arbens government was largely supported by the military. Secondly, in response to the Alliance of Rural Workers and Urban Residents, which supports Arbens, the CIA used multiple secret radio stations to interfere with normal broadcasts in Guatemala, spread rumors and create chaos, in order to gradually weaken the confidence of the dangerous society and create the illusion that the Arbens regime is shaky.
In particular, the C.I.A.'s clever use of a radio program to repeatedly broadcast false news about the so-called "socialist pilots defecting to the United States" not only sowed the seeds of distrust in the Guatemalan Air Force, but also triggered a real defection at a critical moment. The intoxicated remarks of a retired general were carefully edited and broadcast by the C.I.A., further destabilizing the military.For security reasons, President Arbenz even ordered the Air Force not to take off without his orders, which undoubtedly weakened the government's defense capabilities.
(Illustration reflecting Armas's acceptance of U.S. support for overthrowing Arbenz's government)
At the same time as the psychological war broke out, the CIA secretly trained rebels and mercenaries in Nicaragua. Castillo Amas, the carefully selected “chess” of the United States, was also pushed forward by the CIA at the moment. With the launch of the “Victory” program, the CIA trained crew plunged into Guatemala for destructive activities, while the other part disguised as the front force of the invasion, waited for time.
On June 18, 1954, the rebels led by Armas launched a raid on the Arbenz government under the cover of American air strikes. Although the American air strikes dropped nothing more than grenades, detonators and empty bottles, they successfully created the illusion that the rebels were powerful.
At this time, the rebels had not yet penetrated deep into the heart of Guatemala, but the CIA's psychological warfare and propaganda strategies had quietly eroded the foundation of the Arbenz government. You must know that there were many conservatives in the Guatemalan army at that time, and many officers opposed Arbenz's reform and believed that the government reform violated their rights and interests.In the end, the conservatives within the army also became the last straw that broke the Arbens government and dealt Arbens a fatal blow.
(Jacob Abbens Guzman spoke to the crowd when he took office as President of Guatemala in 1951)
On June 27th, the Guatemalan army launched a coup and formally demanded the resignation of President Arbenz. Unable to return, Arbenz handed over power to Colonel Díaz and then fled to the Mexican embassy to seek political asylum. On October 10th, Guatemala held a new general election. Armas, who had previously led the rebels to counterattack and returned home, was successfully elected president of Guatemala with the support of the United States.
It can be said that due to various circumstances, Guatemala is "lucky" that it has not yet become a Central American country completely at the mercy of the United States, and even the "anti-American forces" have a strong domestic foundation. However,"unfortunately", the United States has been frantically plundering and invading Guatemala from politics to business.Let this country suffer from some kind of PTSD, distorted into an absurd logical line of "great powers are wicked, fighting for 'independence' are fighters"。
In their eyes, it seems that a "big country" has only the model of power and imperialism like the United States. Perhaps it is precisely under this thinking that they cannot see the goodwill of New China and the evil intentions of the authorities. It is a pity that an "anti-American fighter" has become a muddlehead who cannot distinguish right from wrong. Of course, for us, the case of Guatemala really raises a major issue. Although many countries in the world may not all have such extreme ideas, they often regard the current American model as a paradigm for all "big powers." It is hard to imagine that there is really "another big power" in the world. How to make them fully understand the "China Path" requires more wisdom and efforts.
References:
向晨&信强：《摆荡、互惠与要价：危地马拉对台关系演变与影响因素探析 》
朱鹤&蓝艺华&张春宇：《20世纪中期美国企业对拉美地区投资的教训及对中国的启示》