TEGUCIGALPA, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) — There is a facility in La Lima, Honduras, dedicated to receiving returned migrants, and almost every day, more than 100 Hondurans deported from the United States arrive.
The rise in illegal immigration has become a central issue in this year’s US presidential election. US politicians have accused Honduras and other Central American countries of being “sources of illegal immigrants.”
However, it will be difficult to eliminate the problem of illegal immigration in the United States as long as the issues of extreme poverty in these countries are not resolved.
If we look at history, the United States bears an undeniable responsibility for the long-term poverty in countries like Honduras. Honduras was once referred to as a “banana republic,” an “oasis” for unchecked American capital and a “cage” in which poor local workers were confined.
Pandora’s box of bananas
In 1870, an American captain named Lorenzo Baker brought a shipload of bananas from Jamaica and sold them in New Jersey. Since then, bananas have become one of the best-selling fruits in the United States. A large number of trading companies were established to transport bananas from Central America and the Caribbean to the United States.
In the early 20th century, American companies such as the Cuyamel Fruit Company acquired concessions to vast tracts of land in Honduras.
From the late 19th to the early 20th century, through multiple armed interventions and coups d’état, American capital gradually gained control over key economic sectors in Honduras. American companies such as Cuyamel occupied vast tracts of land in the northern part of Honduras and built large banana plantations. They also controlled vital economic sectors such as transportation, electricity, and manufacturing.
By 1913, the United States monopolized more than 90 percent of Honduras’ foreign trade. Under the control of American multinational monopolies, Honduras developed a highly concentrated economic structure centered around banana production, and became heavily dependent on imports for basic commodities such as food, leading to a weak economy.
In fact, the United Fruit Company of America once controlled the economic lifeblood of several Central American countries. By operating railroads, the company acquired vast tracts of land along the railroads and freely used local resources such as timber.
Transformational strike
In the early 1930s, the United States sought to expand its overseas markets. Previous “dollar diplomacy” and “big stick” policies had created strong anti-American sentiment in Latin America. To address this problem, the United States introduced the “Good Neighbor Policy,” which, despite its claims to promote “equality” and “non-interference,” continued to dominate the region.
Amidst exploitation, plunder, and interference by the United States, the Honduran people never stopped resisting. During the early 20th century, Honduran workers frequently staged strikes to demand higher wages and better working conditions.
In April 1954, dockworkers in Tela threatened to strike over wage issues. By May, workers from the mining, railroad, textile, and tobacco industries, as well as banana plantation workers, farmers, and small landowners in northern Honduras, had joined the strike.
The massive strike lasted for more than 60 days, and eventually ended in victory as most of the workers’ demands were met.
Beginning in 1975, the Honduran government revoked all concessions and contracts with U.S. banana companies, and nationalized some U.S.-controlled lands. The government also took control of U.S.-controlled ports and railroads, giving it control over banana production, transportation, and sales. These steps marked the beginning of Honduras’ restoration of sovereignty and the building of its national economy.
“Our people’s anti-imperialist struggle is historic and has been united with the workers’ movements as well. What is happening in our country is the fruit of this struggle,” former President Manuel Zelaya, who is also a presidential adviser, told Xinhua.
“Blatant injustice”
But for the Honduran people, the injustice is not over yet.
During their stay in immigration detention centers in the United States, most migrants are subjected to inhumane treatment. “I felt like I was being kidnapped. I was there for 17 days, and my family did not know about my situation.[The US authorities]did not allow me to make phone calls, I was completely cut off from the outside world. I slept on the floor every day until I was released,” said Bernard, 25, from Honduras, who did not give his last name.
On June 28, 2009, a military coup took place in Honduras, forcing then-President Zelaya to step down. The political situation in Honduras remained turbulent for nearly half a year afterward. Reports suggested that the United States was involved in the coup, and the Honduran people who resisted faced repression and displacement. Violence and poverty forced some to seek refuge in the United States.
Zelaya said that many of the political coups that took place in Latin America and the Caribbean in the 20th century were linked to the interests of American multinational corporations.
Unity and awakening
In late 2021, Xiomara Castro, wife of President Zelaya, was elected the first female president in Honduras’ history. After taking office, Castro began to change the elitist political situation supported by external powers.
Despite continued pressure from the United States, the Honduran government showed resistance and established formal diplomatic relations with China in March 2023. During her visit to China three months later, Castro said that Honduras firmly supports and adheres to the one-China principle, and firmly believes that friendly cooperation with China will bring Honduras more and better development opportunities.
“Cooperation with China contributes to Honduras’ economic development and demonstrates its independence and autonomy in the new international order,” said Alan Fajardo, an academic at the National Autonomous University of Honduras.
Castro has pledged to promote regional integration and democracy, and to support the building of a more just, equitable and prosperous region. Honduras has also actively opposed foreign interference in the crisis in Haiti, and mediated the diplomatic dispute between Ecuador and Mexico.
Zelaya believes that Castro’s election as Honduras’ first female president and the decision to establish diplomatic relations with China “mean the creation of a new era.”
“Our country is actively involved in the development of the Global South,” Zelaya said.
Sandra Deras, CEO of Nana Banana Honduras, highlighted the transition from U.S.-owned banana farms to Honduran-run companies on more than 50,000 hectares of banana farms in Honduras. “We are the owners of this land, the owners of the banana resources, and we always put the interests of the Honduran people first,” she said.
Currently, most of the company’s bananas are for the local market. Deras stressed that planting one hectare of bananas can provide jobs for two families, and that Honduras, as a developing country, needs to create more jobs to prevent migration to the United States.