TEGUCIGALPA/Xinhua
By José Gabriel Martínez, Zhao Kai, Xi Yue and Jiang Biao
The profound affect of banana firms in Honduras’ previous and the financial and political management of the USA formed a type of “neocolonialism,” a narrative from which the Honduran individuals realized that unbiased growth is essential to a extra stable and sustainable nationwide financial system. diversified, said the Honduran sociologist Eugenio Sosa.
The director of the Nationwide Institute of Statistics (INE) of Honduras pressured in an interview with Right this moment they have an effect on the financial system and society of the Central American nation.
“The American firms represented a contemporary neocolonialism,” mentioned Sosa, for whom the financial management of the USA over Honduras by way of the investments of its firms, mining first and banana later, is corresponding to Spanish colonization within the sixteenth century.
“There was dispossession of lands, communities and tradition,” added the interviewee, evoking photographs of the cross and the sword, symbols of the Spanish conquest.
The political management over Honduras of American firms such because the United Fruit Firm was seen of their capability to affect Honduran politics, by fomenting coups d’état and supporting political figures to the detriment of others to ensure the continuity of earnings and the protection of their rights. pursuits.
The state of affairs, much like that of different nations within the Central American area, impressed the creation of the derogatory time period “Banana Republic”, used to check with tropical banana-producing nations, extensively depending on US firms and investments, which, given the federal government weak spot of the nations , they took the facility to affect nationwide choices.
In keeping with Sosa, who can be a member of the Division of Sociology on the Nationwide Autonomous College of Honduras, the 1954 strike marked a vital turning level within the historical past of the Central American nation as a result of it confirmed the dissatisfaction of Hondurans with the “neocolonial” state of affairs within the nation. .
“The method of formation of the working class started on the finish of the nineteenth century, nevertheless it emerged as a fantastic nationwide actor in 1954,” defined the director of the INE of Honduras.
The strike not solely demonstrated the energy and sophistication consciousness of banana staff, but in addition generated a solidarity motion all through the nation.
Throughout a part of the second half of the twentieth century, the Honduran peasant motion additionally gained energy, taking land from landowners and banana firms that weren’t utilizing them productively.
“The peasant motion was robust within the 60s, 70s and a part of the 80s, however then it weakened,” commented the interviewee.
The Honduran authorities’s management of assets and infrastructure additionally elevated after the Nineteen Fifties, mentioned Sosa, who mentioned this era noticed the creation of many public establishments, together with social safety and an increasing public sector in areas similar to training or well being.
The Honduran sociologist commented, for instance, that the railroad was by no means a nationwide technique of communication, however fairly served completely the pursuits of the banana firms.
He additionally referred to the necessity for a extra stable and diversified nationwide financial system in Honduras, contemplating that “we have to strengthen our inner financial system and develop sectors that produce for the interior market.”
On the similar time, he criticized Honduras’ continued dependence on overseas funding, arguing that this financial mannequin has been incapable of producing enough, high quality employment.
“International funding is complementary, nevertheless it can’t be the one foundation of our financial system,” mentioned the director of the INE.
“We’ve got opted for reasonable labor, land concessions and tax exemptions to draw overseas funding, however this has not reworked the nation’s financial system,” he added.
Sosa additionally referred to the necessity for a extra equitable and balanced financial growth on the territorial stage, for the reason that enclave mannequin of banana firms and different overseas investments solely benefited some territories up to now and left giant areas of the nation in abandonment, so “We’d like to consider growth by way of all the nationwide territory.”
Taking a look at the way forward for Honduras, the knowledgeable emphasised the significance of industrialization and diversification of agricultural manufacturing, since “if there is no such thing as a transformation within the financial system, there won’t be a real refoundation of the nation.”
Sosa maintained that sectors similar to espresso, greens, cocoa and seafood are key to producing employment and sustainable growth.
For the Honduran sociologist, the excessive migration charges in Honduras are an instance of the implications left within the nation’s financial system and society by the “neocolonial” previous and the domination of United States firms.
In keeping with figures from the 2023 Nationwide Migration and Remittances Survey, carried out by the INE and the Worldwide Group for Migration (IOM) of the United Nations, from January 2018 to March 2023, 348,445 Hondurans migrated overseas.
In keeping with the examine, 961,313 individuals, out of an estimated inhabitants of greater than 10.4 million inhabitants in 2023, had the intention of migrating overseas within the subsequent 12 months and 419,368 had initiated actions or plans to take action.
Sosa recognized the shortage of employment and job insecurity as the principle causes of the emigration of Hondurans.
The spine of migration is the issue of employment, since “the present financial mannequin is incapable of producing sufficient jobs,” mentioned the knowledgeable, who defended the necessity for a transparent and coherent growth plan for Honduras.
“President Xiomara Castro has laid vital foundations, however we want a concrete plan for the longer term (…) the refoundation of Honduras should embrace an financial refoundation that prioritizes inner growth and fairness,” he concluded.
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