Monoculture, monopoly, and the Mexican Revolution: Toma Garrido Canabal and the Standard Fruit Company in Tabasco (1920-1935)

While Tomas Garrido Canabal (Governor of Tabasco from 1920 to 1935) is gene rally portrayed as a rabidly anticlerical dictator, this article argues tha t we can gain much more insight into Garrido's regime if we examine how his policies evolved in response to Tabasco's status as a monocultural economy that depended on selling its bananas to the powerful Standard Fruit Compan y. If one appreciates the impact og the international business firm on the regional leader, then Garrido emerges not as a stereotypical Latin American strongman but rather as an astute politician with a well-conceived plan to improve conditions in his state.