Studying in a school in which the students came from 74 different nationalities, it was fascinating for me growing up to see how my classmates and I grew so close to each other and appreciated the backgrounds of one another despite the fact that our ancestors were once at war. As part of my first blog post, I will begin by introducing myself. My name is Laith Fraijat, I am an 18 year old second year student looking to go into International Relations. As a Palestinian citizen of Jordan, who grew up in Dubai and studies in Canada, it’s fair to say that I am a product of Politics, History and Anthropology. Despite my love for Latin American music, food and culture, this is not the reason behind my interest in this course. As a Palestinian who hopes that my land will once again be a global model for peaceful coexistence, I decided to take Latin American Studies to discover what is it about the region which allows people of African, Iberian and Native American descent to coexists and work together to play some of the greatest soccer witnessed by man. I am taking Latin American Studies to give myself hope that although racism, violence and discrimination exists in my homeland between racial and religious groups, one day coexistence will prevail.

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Historically, it has been observed that the greatest cause of American interference in Latin American economical, political and socio-political settings has been Americas desire to maintain economical control over these less developed Latin American nations. Such policies have been practiced by America consistently throughout modern history and an example of this policy being performed in another geographical region would be the Middle East. America’s entry to Iraq although extremely controversial, led to gross economic benefit for the north American nation. The war on terror put the National Rifle Association in a favorable position and many American weapon manufacturers e.g. Boeing benefited heavily.

This week’s focus relates to the American influence in Latin America, which is unparalleled today in comparison to other modern superpowers. But to what extent is America influential? How does the influence of the USA in Latin America compare to the influence of Latin America in the USA? I will attempt to answer the questions in relation to Guatemala and Banana Production.

One of the answers as to how the US is able to have such a large influence on Latin America lies in its multinational companies. The reading Journey to Banana Land refers to the multinational corporation UFCO, which monopolized the production of bananas in Guatemala and owned a vast amount of lands in the Latin American state. Due to their great control of public services, infrastructure and their contribution to the Guatemalan economy, it was difficult for UFCO not to get their way.

American control of media is another aspect of their influence in Latin America. Although completely different scenarios, and although I do not necessarily have a certain view of Palestinian leader Arafat, it was easy for me as an Arab to draw comparison between two scenarios. When Arafat was made out to be a terrorist, then a peace-making diplomat, then a terrorist again, and when Arbenz, who Alexander Dawson describes as ‘anti-communist’, was made out to be a communist by American media after he opposed the UFCO.

In conclusion, it was interesting for me to acknowledge the extent of American influence in Latin America this week. Especially in regards to their trade policies and influence of culture, keeping in mind the recent election of right-wing candidate Donald Trump.