"If the cultural, health and economic problems with Coke's colonization of Latin America weren't bad enough, it also has a labor record that puts even most other multinational companies to shame. In Guatemala and Colombia, there is strong evidence that the Coca-Cola company actively supported the murders of union activists by paramilitary members at bottling plants run by its subsidiaries and contractors over the years. In Mexico, El Salvador and other countries there have also been ample allegations of the company using paramilitary strength to prevent unionizing and keep employees in line.
In 2001, Human Rights Watch (HRW) and the United Auto Workers (UAW) filed a lawsuit against Coke for the murder of union activist Isidro Gil Segundo and an ongoing campaign of intimidation, terror, murder and paramilitary activity against union members and leaders. Across the board, Coke and its Latin American bottling partners, including Panamco and Bebidas y Alimentos, have waged vicious anti-union campaigns and been accused of rampant illegal labor practices, intimidation techniques, unfair firings and physical attacks.
... Today, Coca-Cola plainly stands as an unvarnished symbol of neoliberalism and modern corporate mercantilism. It is, plainly said, a multinational corporation exploiting cheap labor and "emerging markets," that employs an array of illegal and criminal business "strategies," and utilizes powerful public relations, marketing and lobbying powers to avoid accountability and fatten the company's profits just as its product fattens its consumers."
— Kari Lydersen, Sugar and Blood: Coke in Latin America, Lip Magazine, 28 May 2002
6 comments:
Como se dice....
do do do do dood, do do do ,do do
do do do do dood, always coca-cola (2x)
Wherever there's a pool there's always a flirt
anytime there's school, there'll always be homework
wherever there's a beat, there's always a drum
anytime there's fun there's always coca-cola... yeah.
chorus
The stars will always shine, the birds will always sing
As long as there is thirst, there's always the real thing
Coca-cola is always the one
Whenever there is fun, there's always coca-cola
do do do do dood, do do do ,do do (coca-cola)
do do do do dood, always coca-cola (ooh, ooh, oooh)
do do do do dood, do do do ,do do (doo dood do do doooh)
do do do do dood, always coca-cola (hey eh)
let the sun shine, let it shine.
always, always... coca-cola
oh always.
Sue and Tami,
Please tell me you had to look that up!
How about Costa Rica for Thanksgiving this year?
Yeah, it ain't just south america either. In India, the Indian Supreme Court (yes, that's right) found Coke responsible for using more than its fair (legal?) share of clean water in a region where water shortages are acute, leaving some villages dry. Right before I left New York, Union became a "coke-free" campus (ie, no coca-cola products). But now... ah, now I'm in the coca-cola heartland, on a coke-only campus (even the water is Dasani, a coke brand.)
For more on student/shareholder activism at Coke, check out www.killercoke.org
Do you think that people in Xela associate Coca-Cola with the United States explicitly? With the promise of economic prosperity and class mobility? I wonder: has Coke's brand image suffered there as the image of the US government has plummetted abroad? Or is it insulated by being seen as part of the "culture" of "the people" of the US, in some way?
hmmm. tooth decay.
lmc
oh, I guess I should stop giving Holden Coke in his sippy cup?
liz, i am not surprised....you go there to learn spanish and to tour the country and are going to end up revolutionizing the way people eat down there and exposing the coca-cola brand for its atrocities (sp?)GO YOU!!!!
When I was a child I sometimes longed for growing up to the time when everyone would have outgrown all the petty/hateful things kids can do to each other. Alas, as an (older) adult, I've come to realize that age does not necessarily bring with it the wisdom/discernment/compassion my childish innocence expected. And now another harsh reality---you tell me that an icon almost as American as apple pie and baseball isn't true to its wholesome image! (well, I guess baseball would have to be left out of that image as well now) What is this world coming to?!? Robert & Liz, you figure it out and set it straight.
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