Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
competition—a magnanimous act that underscored the favorable bar-
gaining position in which he perceived himself. Cruz Cáceres's portrait of
the colonel's heady optimism and barroom bravado is laced with subtle
irony.The Canadian Clubwhiskey, Spanish wines, Cuban cigars, and U.S.
dollars were symbols of the colonel's prominent social position—not just
any old poquitero could sidle up to the bar with Dr. Reynolds. Yet, the
objects so conspicuously consumed were a reminder that the privileged
positions enjoyed by local elites were connected to largereconomic trans-
formationsoverwhichtheyhadlittlecontrol.Eventhecolonel'soptimistic
assessment of the banana trade hints at the market structures—expressed
in terms of fruit quality—that could destabilize grower livelihoods, par-
ticularly those of smallholders.
Not all small-scale growers were able or willing to place their fates
in the hands of a patron like Cruz Cáceres's colonel. In 1894 eighty-five
people established the San Pedro Sula-based Sociedad Bananera with the
broad objective of ''promoting the development of the banana industry
by finding the means to overcome the obstacles presently impeding the
progress of the industry on this coast.''
60
In order to join the society an
individual needed to have one manzana (.69 hectares) of bananas in a
''good state of production,'' a modest requirement that suggests that the
association sought to include small-scale producers. Record linkage with
the 1899 survey confirms that a significant proportion of the society's
founding members (50 percent) cultivated seven or fewer hectares of ba-
nanas.
61
According to one turn-of-the-century report, the Sociedad Bana-
nera tried to support the ''small cultivator'' (pequeñoagricultor)whohad
in the past been victimized by the ''evil doings'' of ''certain large-scale
producers.'' One means by which the society attempted to improve its
members' bargaining position was by prohibiting members from buy-
ing or selling fruit produced by other growers. The society survived five
years before dissolving in 1899 while trying to negotiate a purchase con-
tract. A local government o
cial attributed the society's demise to cer-
tain ''foreign export houses'' committed to undermining the association,
but did not provide specific details.
62
However, a memoir written by a
SanPedroSulaplanternamedCatarinoRivasCháconrecalledthatduring
timesof highprices,bananagrowersandshippersalikeengagedinspecu-
lation and often broke contracts. This potentially explains the demise of
the San Pedro Sula Sociedad Bananera during a period of market expan-
sion.
63
Of course, market structures were not the only factors that affected
banana growers. A government report from 1900 expressed concern over
the situation of the ''small scale'' producer who, in a majority of cases,
