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During the Elián Gonzalez custody battle, passions and politics ran high with Cuban-Americans at the center of it all. America was mad at the family and the community for trying to keep the boy away from his father and the community was angry with those trying to send the boy to a Communist regime. After the infamous raid, the mayor punished the police chief and others who were under him and aided the INS against the mayor's wishes. In protest, bananas were thrown at City Hall and signs of "Banana Republic" were displayed to protest the corruption. But, they all insisted that the bananas and the phrase had nothing to do with the mayor being Cuban.
There's no positive connotation to the phrase "Banana Republic". Unless, of course, you're referring to the clothing store for style junkies. Many have even found ways to capitalize on the label by selling flags and other merchandise with banana slogans. The term was originally used to refer to Central American and Caribbean nations ruled by dictators whose economies depended on a single crop - Bananas. The term was was originally derogatory in meaning and still is. The media has a nasty habit of portraying Miami as a Cuban-American political stronghold where no other group can hold power. Very few paid attention to the actual power and ethnic structure in Miami:
Although Miami-Dade's population includes more than two Hispanics for every white non-Hispanic, white non-Hispanics hold two of every three positions of power. Only one in four is held by a Hispanic.
But today, 75 percent of Miami-Dade County judges are white non-Hispanics. And in the county's major arts organizations, they constitute 89 percent of the leadership. The leaders of businesses with the most employees in Miami-Dade are 60 percent white non-Hispanics. Even on college and university boards and in political posts, white non-Hispanics hold more than half of the positions.
- Miami Herald September, 2000
Florida, and Miami in particular, has always had a tradition of corruption. Most urban cities do. Some say that during prohibition in the 1920s, all of the alcohol in America dripped down to Florida. Ever hear the phrase, "I've got some great land in Florida to sell you?" Now, Cuba is calling Florida a Banana Republic over the election scandal. On top of that, another Cuban child has been kidnapped. This time he has been taken to Cuba. The media ignored the hundreds of children not permitted to leave Cuba during the Elián controversy, so don't expect this to get much attention. The fresh kidnapping doesn't allow us to demonize an entire community. We are in the midst of the most questionable election in American history, where the Secretary of State (appointed by a candidate's brother) has sued to stop people from counting ballots, and the habit of Florida election irregularities are finally coming to light. The highest members in the state of Florida government and the candidates themselves are condoning the same electoral habits we condemn in other nations. George Bush, Jeb Bush, Al Gore, Katherine Harris and others in the center of the dispute are power holders. Like the Herald pointed out, the majority of the power brokers are not Hispanic. So, I guess we need no bananas.
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