According to the Mayans,
December 21st, 2012, is supposed to be the last day of our existence. According to certain Bolivians, it will be the last day of capitalism. Bolivia's Foreign Minister David Choquehuanaca, standing alongside President Evo Morales, recently announced that on the alleged fateful day for the world, his nation will ban Coca-Cola, becoming the fourth nation in the world to do so, reports Forbes contributor Anderson Antunes.
Currently, only North Korea, Cuba, and Myanmar ban the world famous soda.
“December 21 of 2012 will be the end of egoism and division", said Choquehuanca at a political rally for President Evo Morales. "December 21 should be the..
end of Coca-Cola. The planets will align for the first time in 26,000 years and this is the end of capitalism and the beginning of communitarianism."
Devoid of the caffeinated, sugary concoction, Choquehuanca urged citizens to drink Mocochinche, a Bolivian, peach-flavored soft drink, to quench their thirst.
The announcement, bold and some would say, questionable, almost appears to be intended more as a crowd pleaser than anything substantial. Not only did it fail to mention how the ban would go about preventing the sale of Coca-Cola, it also failed to acknowledge the presence of another similar corporate, capitalist driven giant, Pepsi.
It also may eventually catch up with the Bolivian economy as well. Coca extract, a supposed ingredient in the soft drink (their recipe is notoriously secret), is extracted from the coca leaf, a large part of the Bolivian GDP. Forbes estimates that the leaf represents 2% of Bolivia's total GDP, 14% of all agricultural sales, and about $270 million in revenue, annually.
Coca-Cola isn't even the first (unhealthy) major U.S. corporation to be forced out of Bolivia. Last year, McDonald's was forced to withdraw its eight remaining franchises from the South American nation after more than a decade of stagnant sales, reports the Huffington Post.
A documentary was even made, describing the reasons behind McDonald's failure, called "Why McDonald’s failed in Bolivia." In the video, filmmaker Fernando Martinez concludes that a culturally driven boycott, in the end, trumped a billion dollar corporation.
"Culture beat a transnational, globalized world," said Martinez.
www.businessinsider.com
December 21st, 2012, is supposed to be the last day of our existence. According to certain Bolivians, it will be the last day of capitalism. Bolivia's Foreign Minister David Choquehuanaca, standing alongside President Evo Morales, recently announced that on the alleged fateful day for the world, his nation will ban Coca-Cola, becoming the fourth nation in the world to do so, reports Forbes contributor Anderson Antunes.
Currently, only North Korea, Cuba, and Myanmar ban the world famous soda.
“December 21 of 2012 will be the end of egoism and division", said Choquehuanca at a political rally for President Evo Morales. "December 21 should be the..
end of Coca-Cola. The planets will align for the first time in 26,000 years and this is the end of capitalism and the beginning of communitarianism."
Devoid of the caffeinated, sugary concoction, Choquehuanca urged citizens to drink Mocochinche, a Bolivian, peach-flavored soft drink, to quench their thirst.
The announcement, bold and some would say, questionable, almost appears to be intended more as a crowd pleaser than anything substantial. Not only did it fail to mention how the ban would go about preventing the sale of Coca-Cola, it also failed to acknowledge the presence of another similar corporate, capitalist driven giant, Pepsi.
It also may eventually catch up with the Bolivian economy as well. Coca extract, a supposed ingredient in the soft drink (their recipe is notoriously secret), is extracted from the coca leaf, a large part of the Bolivian GDP. Forbes estimates that the leaf represents 2% of Bolivia's total GDP, 14% of all agricultural sales, and about $270 million in revenue, annually.
Coca-Cola isn't even the first (unhealthy) major U.S. corporation to be forced out of Bolivia. Last year, McDonald's was forced to withdraw its eight remaining franchises from the South American nation after more than a decade of stagnant sales, reports the Huffington Post.
A documentary was even made, describing the reasons behind McDonald's failure, called "Why McDonald’s failed in Bolivia." In the video, filmmaker Fernando Martinez concludes that a culturally driven boycott, in the end, trumped a billion dollar corporation.
"Culture beat a transnational, globalized world," said Martinez.
www.businessinsider.com
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