La Fatlera Del Oncle Sam

La Fatlera del Oncle Sam, which translates to “Uncle Sam’s craving”, is a political cartoon from 1896, which falls in the neocolonial period of Latin American history. It was created by Manuel Moline, who worked for La Campana de Gracia, a newspaper published in Spain. The image depicts an evil looking Uncle Sam stretching his arms over Cuba with the aim of taking it for the United States. Underneath the image lies, “Guardarse l’ isla perque no ‘s perdi”, which translates to “saving the island so it won’t get lost”. From the Spanish point of view, it’s made evidently clear that Uncle Sam is a greedy figure, taking what he wants for the United States’ gain and that the island should be protected from US imperialism. However, the line can also be viewed from Uncle Sam’s perspective that the US must control the island of Cuba so it can be saved, at least in their eyes.

During this period of neocolonialism, foreign influence grew rapidly in Latin America. The United States and former European colonizers such as England and Spain all began to take part in the Latin American economy again, investing significantly in Latin American businesses and resources. Following the period of Progress, where Latin American countries made significant advancements in technology and infrastructure, a majority of the economy became controlled by outside actors. Not only did those actors affect the economy, but the political sphere as well. The United States and other countries involved all vied for political control so their country would benefit the most from Latin America’s potential. It became so extreme that it lead to huge growth of nationalism and revolutions in Latin American countries during the next 30-40 years. This political cartoon accurately depicts the United States’ in depth involvement in Latin America and their desire to control Cuba for it’s economic benefits; but just because Spain made this comic does not mean they are innocent themselves of what they are accusing the United States of.

Works Cited:

Moline, Manuel. 1896. “La Fatlera del Oncle Sam”. https://commons.marymount.edu/en204fa13/2013/11/11/rudyard-kipling-recessional/561px-la_fallera_de_loncle_sam/ (accessed February 29, 2020)

By Shane Wallace