Event Title
Cultural Encounters at Zamorano: The United Fruit Company, Agricultural Education, and Regional Development
Location
Lindy C. Boggs Conference Center - Room 256
Session
Session One: Empire and Solidarity in Historical Perspective
Start Date
16-10-2009 3:30 PM
End Date
16-10-2009 6:00 PM
Description
The United Fruit Company (UFCO) opened La Escuela Agricola Panamericana, or Zamorano, in 1942 to provide advanced agricultural training to students from across Latin America. UFCO President Samuel Zemurray believed the school, which still exists today, would be good for business and the region as graduates applied their newly acquired skills toward the economic development of their home countries. Zamorano’s continued commitment to the promotion of business and the betterment of Latin America raises intriguing questions about the nature of the United States’ economic relationship with Latin America. While many of the school’s 6,000 graduates hold high-level positions with the businesses, banks, and governmental agencies central to the northern consumption of southern commodities, still others work to promote environmental and social justice agendas, often from within the free-market system. As a site of negotiation between these diverse interests, the school illuminates the complexities inherent in the north-south flow of people, products, and ideas.
Cultural Encounters at Zamorano: The United Fruit Company, Agricultural Education, and Regional Development
Lindy C. Boggs Conference Center - Room 256
The United Fruit Company (UFCO) opened La Escuela Agricola Panamericana, or Zamorano, in 1942 to provide advanced agricultural training to students from across Latin America. UFCO President Samuel Zemurray believed the school, which still exists today, would be good for business and the region as graduates applied their newly acquired skills toward the economic development of their home countries. Zamorano’s continued commitment to the promotion of business and the betterment of Latin America raises intriguing questions about the nature of the United States’ economic relationship with Latin America. While many of the school’s 6,000 graduates hold high-level positions with the businesses, banks, and governmental agencies central to the northern consumption of southern commodities, still others work to promote environmental and social justice agendas, often from within the free-market system. As a site of negotiation between these diverse interests, the school illuminates the complexities inherent in the north-south flow of people, products, and ideas.