Blood Bananas: Chiquita in Columbia

Derek Kissinger

University of Milwaukee-Wisconsin MBA program

Blood Bananas: Chiquita In Columbia

Blood Bananas: Chiquita In Columbia is a complex case that touches on fundamental questions of ethics and morality while operating a business abroad. It is a case that exposes the challenges faced by a company trying to maintain production and protect its employees while navigating between two very different cultures in a hostile situation. In this case, the lines of the ethics and morality are not as straight forward as they seem on the surface, and Chiquita’s management struggles to make decisions that will transcend both cultures’ view of right versus wrong.

There are a number of different root causes for Chiquita’s actions in Columbia that ultimately led to their conviction. Arguably the most important root cause is the unstable political environment that has been present in Columbia over the past 60 years. Ever since the 1948 assassination of populist leader Jorge Eliecer Gaitan, Columbia been constantly fought over by paramilitary groups. Groups such as the FARC and ELN are insurgent guerrilla militia groups that have been fighting with and against each other for the better half of a century over land, resources, money, political power and overall control of Columbia. These militant groups forced anyone under their power to pay “taxes”, which for all intents and purposes were cash bribes. The failure to pay these bribes resulted in death threats, and these were not empty threats. At least 50 Chiquita employees in Columbia have been killed by the violent factions. As Chiquita CEO Fernando Aguirre put it, “These lands were lands where there was no law. It was impossible for the government to protect Chiquita employees.” This absence of a strong central government was a major root cause of many of their problems.

Another factor was the culture that had been developed over this time of lawlessness. The presence of drug cartels, an unstable government, and violent militias continuously fighting for power created a reality and a culture that many westerners do not understand and could not relate to. On top of this there were vast income inequality and uneven wealth distribution amongst the people of Columbia. More than half of Columbians were living below the poverty line at the time. Developed western business culture and codes of ethics didn’t stand a chance in this business landscape. The things we see as moral and immoral in the United States are vastly different than in Columbia. Killings happen so often and that it has become part of culture and the people of Columbia had almost become desensitized to it. Violence and bribery are so embed into contemporary business practices that it is standard procedure. This creates huge fundamental problems