ALL-AMERICAN EFFECT

THE ROOTS OF LATINO MIGRATION IN THE U.S.

The American Dream

Benjamin Franklin once said, “Human felicity is produced not so much by great pieces of good fortune that seldom happen, as by little advantages that occur every day.”¹ Such statements have become a modern-day microcosm of the aspirations laid forth by the founding father to future generations of the American people. The American Dream is a perpetual national mentality that has risen alongside the growth of an immigrant-led America. It speaks significantly about how success can be attained through hard work regardless of origin, as shown in Benjamin Franklin’s rise to historical prominence.² Many pundits have critiqued the American Dream’s deceptive ideology, pointing towards a worldly standard of living.³ The presence of advertising and television sitcoms helped carry on such beliefs to an American audience hungry and ready to manifest a world with white picket fences.⁴ Where did this leave the flock of people who would increasingly migrate to the United States in the back half of the 20th century? Were their aspirations aligned to those depicted in American pop culture? Who were they, and why were they coming to the United States?

The American Dream was authentic to them and enough of a reason to risk their lives for it.

Worth Fighting For

The American Dream is not the same concept for everybody pursuing it. What defines a dream is understood as a relative reflection of what one covets and or lacks in the first place. Furthermore, if a young citizen in the United States values an expensive lifestyle instead of an average nineto-five existence, that can represent fulfilling the American Dream. In contrast, an immigrant setting foot in the United States for the first time may view arriving in the country as reaching the end goal.

The conditions of an individual’s environment primarily play a role in the differing interpretation of what quantifies as a fulfilling life. A Pew Research Center study revealed a surprising 51% of Latinos believed they had achieved the American Dream. Of those surveyed, 21% attributed their arrival in the United States as the key reason for success.⁵ For many Latinos, surviving the perilous journey across the Mexico–U.S. border was not only an accomplishment but also a golden ticket to success. Latinos were better off being illegal immigrants in a foreign land than being kings in their own home country. The American Dream was authentic to them and enough of a reason to risk their lives for it.

Central America

What exactly was going on in Central America to cause this emigration? Were crime and poverty an absolute certainty for the children living in countries such as Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala? In her book, “They Take Our Jobs!” and 20 Other Myths about Immigration, author Aviva Chomsky points out, “Poverty, lack of opportunity, and danger ‘push’ people to leave; opportunity, availability of jobs, education, and safety ‘pull’ people elsewhere.”⁶ In one way or another, all of these factors were interrelated in a lengthy and complicated century of U.S. intervention in Central America.

Following the Spanish-American War in 1898, the United States became embroiled in a series of interventions and occupations in Central America and the Caribbean.⁷ Each country suffered bloodshed in varying degrees; however, the emergence of corruption in U.S. involvement redefined the rest of the 20th century.

Century of Chaos

The first example of corruption came in the form of “banana republics.” Bananas were beginning to take form as a valuable asset at the turn of the century. American fruit corporations recognized that controlling the banana supply directly from the source would give them a leg up in the market. Each corporation was vying to control Central American territories, offering economic infrastructure support in return. Backdoor deals were done between political figureheads and fruit corporations, resulting in new military regimes to placate foreign business.⁸ The result was disastrous.

Leaders of Central American countries were installed to serve the interest of American big businesses. Honduras was at the forefront when, in 1911, Manuel Bonilla and American businessman Sam Zemurray staged a coup to overthrow President Miguel Dávila.⁹ Unfortunately, this sort of deceit became a dominant force

in the intervening years that led to instability and poverty. In Latin America, many plantation workers got tired of working long hours and in poor working conditions. Civil unrest led to the people forming resistance militias looking to overthrow military-led governments.

The United Fruit Company was at the center of it all, as the de facto American corporation with a monopolized control of fruit plantations across Central America. The giant fruit corporation was valued at $100 million in 1920, which converts to $1.285 trillion in 2020 dollars.¹⁰ United Fruit’s affluence extended beyond just market share, as it managed to employ the American military on its behalf on multiple occasions.¹¹ The Banana Wars set in motion the pretext that the U.S. was within its right to interfere with Latin American countries in the best interest of protecting American big businesses. The U.S. involvement wasn’t well-received by Latinos, and in turn, created a fallout that would incite division with multiple countries.

The U.S. occupation of Nicaragua from 1912 to 1933, as part of the Banana Wars, set in motion a series of interrelated wars that would ravage Central America in the back end of the 20th century.¹² A rebellion led by Augusto César Sandino coincided with the Great Depression, forcing the U.S. to pull back its forces. Sandio would be assassinated shortly after by the National Guard, led by General Anastasio Somoza García. As history unfolded, Somoza ruled Nicaragua under a dictatorship for 43 years, whereas Sandino’s beliefs would carry on a Nicaraguan Revolution that fueled future wars.

Left-wing militant groups rose across Central America, prompting the U.S. to establish government forces and death squads in El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, and Nicaragua.¹³ The height of the turmoil would intensify in the 1980s, where U.S. forces waged war on militant groups in various countries. From the Sandinistas in Nicaragua to the FMLN party in El Salvador.

Honduras played an essential role in warding off the Sandinista government in neighboring Nicaragua. The Central American country served as a hotbed for U.S. military presence and funded the Contras, a right-wing rebel group.¹⁴ The ensuing chaos left the fragile Central American region in a state of political repression and economic instability. It would be remiss not to mention the downright alarming civilian casualty rates of the period. The Salvadoran Civil War occurred from 1979 to 1992, resulting in over 75,000 civilians dying at government forces’ hands.¹⁵

Historians argue that the U.S. helped perpetuate the Central American Crisis, resulting in the displacement of millions of indigenous communities. If anything is sure, the United States’ allure increased out of the constant upheaval occurring in Central America. The breadcrumb trail of corruption and destabilization occurring throughout Central America set the stage for the migration boom of the 21st century.¹⁶