banana republics

Cultural  

1. A term describing any of several small nations in Latin America that have economies based on a few agricultural crops.

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The term banana republic is often used in a disparaging sense; it suggests an unstable government.

Example Sentences

So it’s not the “banana republics” that hold former leaders to account.

From Washington Post

Guatemala is of course one of the so-called banana republics, whose national politics were subjugated for much of the 20th century to the interests of the United Fruit Company.

From New York Times

“We used to scoff at these countries around us as banana republics. But ... we are worse than them,” she said of a regulatory environment that has allowed questionable financial activities to flourish.

From Washington Post

Then came the ultimate loss, the election, and desperate machinations that politicians likened to the practices of “banana republics” or the “Third World” but were wholly America in the twilight of the Trump presidency.

From Seattle Times

“We witnessed a rupture of democracy that we thought we could only experience in banana republics like my own,” said Jessika Giron, 46, of Honduras.

From New York Times