Isabela Pierry

  

Volume 8 | Issue III | September 2024

Rye Country Day School ’25

New York, USA

  

I have eaten many bananas in my lifetime, but before I embarked on this research paper, I had never imagined that a common fruit played such a complex role in shaping the foreign policies of Latin America and the United States. During my sophomore year history class, I learned about Cold War politics in Latin America, a topic that resonated with me given that I moved from Brazil to the US at the age of nine. In that class, I was first exposed to the history of the United Fruit Company (UFCO), an American banana exporting company, and the role it played in Guatemala’s 1954 coup d’état. I decided to investigate this topic further for my junior year AP US History class, from which this paper originated. Through my research, I found two main interpretations of the UFCO’s role: one centered around economics and the other around politics. This duality and ambiguity prompted me to dive deeper into the subject, reveling every time I found and analyzed a newly declassified document. I submitted my paper to The Schola for publication and subsequently incorporated their editorial suggestions to add new insights into my work. Outside of my interest in history and foreign affairs, I enjoy studying Romance languages, writing poetry, reading, traveling, and playing sports. It is a privilege to have my work published in The Schola, and I hope my paper can inspire new reflections on the modern-day implications of the UFCO’s presence in Latin America.