The Coke Machine (51 page)
Authors: Michael Blanding
Page 141 “When I bought VitaminWater”:
Center for Science in the Public Interest, “Coke Sued for Fraudulent Claims on Obesity-Promoting VitaminWater,” January 15, 2009.
Center for Science in the Public Interest, “Coke Sued for Fraudulent Claims on Obesity-Promoting VitaminWater,” January 15, 2009.
Page 141 “opportunistic PR stunt; “grandstanding”:
The Coca-Cola Company, “Statement on the Glaceau VitaminWater Lawsuit,” January 15, 2009.
The Coca-Cola Company, “Statement on the Glaceau VitaminWater Lawsuit,” January 15, 2009.
Page 142 faced its own controversy:
Bridget Murray Law, “New Sweetener Is Not So Sweet for Your Diet,”
msnbc.com
, April 17, 2009.
CHAPTER 6 .Bridget Murray Law, “New Sweetener Is Not So Sweet for Your Diet,”
msnbc.com
, April 17, 2009.
“¡TOMA LO BUENO!”
Page 146 healing art:
Carlos Humberto Gallegos Aguilar, interview by the author.
Carlos Humberto Gallegos Aguilar, interview by the author.
Page 146 people are performing the same ritual:
Gallegos, interview by the author.
Gallegos, interview by the author.
Page 147 635 cups of Coke beverages annually:
The Coca-Cola Company, Per Capita Consumption of Company Beverage Products, 2008,
http://www.thecoca-colacompany.com/ourcompany/ar/pdf/perCapitaConsumption2008.pdf
.
The Coca-Cola Company, Per Capita Consumption of Company Beverage Products, 2008,
http://www.thecoca-colacompany.com/ourcompany/ar/pdf/perCapitaConsumption2008.pdf
.
Page 147 one of the first foreign countries to sell Coke:
Pendergrast, 93.
Pendergrast, 93.
Page 147 small amounts in Cuba, the Philippines:
Louis and Yazijian, 46; Allen, 170.
Louis and Yazijian, 46; Allen, 170.
Page 147 from sporadic to anemic:
Pendergrast, 166-167; Allen, 171.
Pendergrast, 166-167; Allen, 171.
Page 148 owned outright by Coke, as in India:
Pendergrast, 184.
Pendergrast, 184.
Page 148 forced to repeal the law:
Louis and Yazijian, 64-65.
Louis and Yazijian, 64-65.
Page 148 resentment from some foreigners:
Barry Rubin and Judith Colp Rubin,
Hating America: A History
(London: Oxford University Press, 2004), 125-145.
Barry Rubin and Judith Colp Rubin,
Hating America: A History
(London: Oxford University Press, 2004), 125-145.
Page 148 wild rumors about the American drink:
Kahn, 24.
Kahn, 24.
Page 149 Nowhere was opposition stronger than in France:
Richard Kuisel,
Seducing the French: The Dilemma of Americanization
(Berkeley: University of California Press, 1993); Rubin and Rubin, 132-145.
Richard Kuisel,
Seducing the French: The Dilemma of Americanization
(Berkeley: University of California Press, 1993); Rubin and Rubin, 132-145.
Page 149 “Coca-Colonization”:
Kuisel, 55; Rubin and Rubin, 146.
Kuisel, 55; Rubin and Rubin, 146.
Page 149 “the moral landscape of France”:
Kahn, 28.
Kahn, 28.
Page 149 “Coca-Cola was not injurious to the health”:
Louis and Yazijian, 77.
Louis and Yazijian, 77.
Page 149 “This is the decisive struggle for Europe”:
Allen, 4.
Allen, 4.
Page 149 trade war on French wine, cheese, and Champagne:
Kahn, 30.
Kahn, 30.
Page 149 1953 poll:
Kuisel, 68.
Kuisel, 68.
Page 149 “It’s because Coke is a champion”:
Kahn, 32.
Kahn, 32.
Page 149 nationalized bottling plants:
Pendergrast, 312.
Pendergrast, 312.
Page 150 Pepsi broke into the Soviet Union:
Pendergrast, 275.
Pendergrast, 275.
Page 150 every excuse not to open . . . stayed with the Jews:
Allen, 339-341; Pendergrast, 286.
Allen, 339-341; Pendergrast, 286.
Page 150 against company policy to give in to a boycott:
Watters, 194.
Watters, 194.
Page 150 more than half his time flying:
Pendergrast, 302.
Pendergrast, 302.
Page 150 40 percent of consumption and 55 percent of profits:
Watters, 2.
Watters, 2.
Page 150 “We’re not multinational”:
Louis and Yazijian, 153.
Louis and Yazijian, 153.
Page 151 so-called halo effect:
Pendergrast, 291.
Pendergrast, 291.
Page 151 “We have our own built-in State Department”:
Louis and Yazijian, 285.
Louis and Yazijian, 285.
Page 151 State Department approved a $300 million loan:
Louis and Yazijian, 285.
Louis and Yazijian, 285.
Page 151 polyester suits . . . the cancer of unionism:
Henry J. Frundt,
Refreshing Pauses: Coca-Cola and Human Rights in Guatemala
(New York: Praeger, 1987), 4.
Henry J. Frundt,
Refreshing Pauses: Coca-Cola and Human Rights in Guatemala
(New York: Praeger, 1987), 4.
Page 152 twelve-hour shifts . . . firing 154 workers:
Frundt, 8-9.
Frundt, 8-9.
Page 152 to make it more difficult:
Frundt, 17-27.
Frundt, 17-27.
Page 152 Sisters of Providence . . . demand an independent investigation:
Frundt, 28.
Frundt, 28.
Page 152 nuns cried foul:
Frundt, 36-37.
Frundt, 36-37.
Page 152 General Romeo Lucas García . . . rout any leftist influences:
Mike Gatehouse and Miguel Angel Reyes,
Soft Drink, Hard Labour
(London: Latin American Bureau, 1987), 3, 11.
Mike Gatehouse and Miguel Angel Reyes,
Soft Drink, Hard Labour
(London: Latin American Bureau, 1987), 3, 11.
Page 152 Israel Márquez was sprayed by machine-gun fire:
Frundt, 61.
Frundt, 61.
Page 153 ambushed by two men:
Frundt, 64.
Frundt, 64.
Page 153 Manuel López Balán, was also killed:
Frundt, 82.
Frundt, 82.
Page 153 Márquez traveled to Wilmington . . . out of order:
Frundt, 84-86.
Frundt, 84-86.
Page 153 exonerated the franchisee:
Frundt, 86-90.
Frundt, 86-90.
Page 153 call to boycott . . . work stoppages at Coke plants:
Frundt, 105-107.
Frundt, 105-107.
Page 154 buyout by two handpicked bottling executives:
Frundt, 163-167.
Frundt, 163-167.
Page 154 But Coke’s stalling had left eight workers dead:
Gatehouse and Reyes, 12-13.
Page 154 Per-caps in Latin America:
Pendergrast, 367.
Gatehouse and Reyes, 12-13.
Page 154 Per-caps in Latin America:
Pendergrast, 367.
Page 154 minutiae of foreign markets:
Allen, 421-422.
Allen, 421-422.
Page 154 “Our success”:
Pendergrast, 389.
Pendergrast, 389.
Page 155 Nelson Mandela denied Coke’s offers:
Lawrence Jolidon, “Divestment, Sanctions, Not Always Simple,”
USA Today
, June 19, 1990; Clarence Johnson, “ANC’s Oakland Headquarters,”
San Francisco Chronicle
, June 27, 1990.
Lawrence Jolidon, “Divestment, Sanctions, Not Always Simple,”
USA Today
, June 19, 1990; Clarence Johnson, “ANC’s Oakland Headquarters,”
San Francisco Chronicle
, June 27, 1990.
Page 155 contributing heavily . . . corporate jets:
Deborah Scroggins, “Mandela in Atlanta: Regular Folk to Coke Elite Vie to Help His Cause,”
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
, July 11, 2009; Lewis Grizzard, “Respect for Mandela Went down the Drain,”
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
, July 18, 1993.
Deborah Scroggins, “Mandela in Atlanta: Regular Folk to Coke Elite Vie to Help His Cause,”
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
, July 11, 2009; Lewis Grizzard, “Respect for Mandela Went down the Drain,”
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
, July 18, 1993.
Page 155 sixth most valuable company:
Allen, 421-422.
Allen, 421-422.
Page 155 “This is a classic situation”:
Hays, 295.
Hays, 295.
Page 155 lambasted on late-night talk shows:
Hays, 296.
Hays, 296.
Page 156 ad blitz to wallpaper the country in red and white:
Laura K. Jordan, “El problema de la responsibilidad social corporativa: La empresa Coca-Cola en Los Altos de Chiapas” (thesis, San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas, Centro de Investigaciones y Estudios Superiores en Antropología Social, 2008), 73.
Laura K. Jordan, “El problema de la responsibilidad social corporativa: La empresa Coca-Cola en Los Altos de Chiapas” (thesis, San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas, Centro de Investigaciones y Estudios Superiores en Antropología Social, 2008), 73.
Page 156 “It is not uncommon”:
Richard J. Barnet and Ronald E. Muller,
Global Reach: The Power of Multinational Corporations
(New York: Simon & Schuster, 1974).
Richard J. Barnet and Ronald E. Muller,
Global Reach: The Power of Multinational Corporations
(New York: Simon & Schuster, 1974).
Page 156 $68 million for unfair competition:
“Mexican Shopkeeper Defeats Coke,” BBC News, November 17, 2005; “Coca-Cola Fined for Anti-competitive Practices in Mexico,” Datamonitor NewsWire, November 21, 2005; James Hider, “Woman Who Flattened Coca-Cola: A Tenacious Small Trader Took on the Biggest of the Big Boys and Won,”
Times
(London), November 18, 2005.
“Mexican Shopkeeper Defeats Coke,” BBC News, November 17, 2005; “Coca-Cola Fined for Anti-competitive Practices in Mexico,” Datamonitor NewsWire, November 21, 2005; James Hider, “Woman Who Flattened Coca-Cola: A Tenacious Small Trader Took on the Biggest of the Big Boys and Won,”
Times
(London), November 18, 2005.
Page 157 FEMSA’s stock price tripled, from $35 to more than $115:
Jordan, 65.
Jordan, 65.
Page 157 more than a 30 percent stake in Coca-Cola FEMSA:
Coca-Cola FEMSA, S.A.B. de C.V., Annual Report 2009 shows that Coke owns 31.2 percent of Coke FEMSA; in 2004, according to that year’s Annual Report, Coke owned 39.6 percent.
Coca-Cola FEMSA, S.A.B. de C.V., Annual Report 2009 shows that Coke owns 31.2 percent of Coke FEMSA; in 2004, according to that year’s Annual Report, Coke owned 39.6 percent.
Page 157 brought up to Chamula by horse:
Jordan, 74.
Jordan, 74.
Page 157 pushed by the village elders . . . “There are problems”:
June Nash, interview by the author; see also Beverly Bell, “Cola Wars in Mexico: Tzotzil Indians in Mexico Know the Dangers of Globalization and Soda Pop,”
In These Times
, October 6, 2006.
June Nash, interview by the author; see also Beverly Bell, “Cola Wars in Mexico: Tzotzil Indians in Mexico Know the Dangers of Globalization and Soda Pop,”
In These Times
, October 6, 2006.
Page 157 concessions were granted politically:
June Nash,
In the Eyes of the Ancestors: Belief and Behavior in a Maya Community
(New Haven, CT, and London: Yale University Press, 1970), 629.
June Nash,
In the Eyes of the Ancestors: Belief and Behavior in a Maya Community
(New Haven, CT, and London: Yale University Press, 1970), 629.
Page 158 “[It is] part of daily life”:
Jordan, 77.
Jordan, 77.
Page 158 “Indigenous people”:
Cristóbal López Pérez, interview by the author.
Cristóbal López Pérez, interview by the author.
Page 159 “We can’t blame Coca-Cola”:
Juan Ignacio Domínguez, interview by the author.
Juan Ignacio Domínguez, interview by the author.
Page 160 “These three years”:
Marcos Arana Cedeño and Liliana López, interviews by the author.
Marcos Arana Cedeño and Liliana López, interviews by the author.
Page 161 liter of Coke sells for 10 pesos:
Hermann Bellinghausen, “Aggressive Campaign of Coca-Cola from Chenalho to Acteal,”
La jornada
, November 3, 2001; Arana and Domínguez, interviews by the author.
Hermann Bellinghausen, “Aggressive Campaign of Coca-Cola from Chenalho to Acteal,”
La jornada
, November 3, 2001; Arana and Domínguez, interviews by the author.
Page 161 cheaper than its main ingredient:
Shop visit by author.
Shop visit by author.
Page 161 The rumor persists . . . does nothing to dispel:
See Rob Walker, “Cult Classic,”
New York Times
, October 11, 2009.
See Rob Walker, “Cult Classic,”
New York Times
, October 11, 2009.
Page 161 began using cheaper HFCS:
José Yuste, “Activo empresarial,”
Crónica
, February 10, 1997.
José Yuste, “Activo empresarial,”
Crónica
, February 10, 1997.
Page 161 60 percent HFCS:
“Mexican Soft-Drink Bottlers to Turn to Sugar in the Wake of HFCS Tax,”
Food & Drink Weekly
, January 21, 2002.
“Mexican Soft-Drink Bottlers to Turn to Sugar in the Wake of HFCS Tax,”
Food & Drink Weekly
, January 21, 2002.
Page 161 30 percent, but with plans:
Coca-Cola FEMSA Earnings Conference Call, Fair Disclosure Wire, July 24, 2009.
Coca-Cola FEMSA Earnings Conference Call, Fair Disclosure Wire, July 24, 2009.
Page 161 Mexico repealed the tax:
Alan Field, “Mexico Drops Sweetener Tax, Ending U.S. Trade Dispute,”
Journal of Commerce
, January 5, 2007.
Alan Field, “Mexico Drops Sweetener Tax, Ending U.S. Trade Dispute,”
Journal of Commerce
, January 5, 2007.
Page 162 dates back to the late 1980s . . . part of Oaxaca as well:
Jordan, 74-75.
Jordan, 74-75.
Page 163 1.37 million liters a day:
Jordan, 129.
Jordan, 129.
Page 163 the company takes no more than 2 percent:
Jordan, 118, 130.
Jordan, 118, 130.
Page 163 “The water here”:
María de la Ascunción Gómez Carpio, interview by the author.
María de la Ascunción Gómez Carpio, interview by the author.
Page 163 “There used to be a lot of water”:
Rosa María Reazola Estevané, interview by the author.
Rosa María Reazola Estevané, interview by the author.
Page 164 mayor of the town of Apizaco . . . “We comply with the law”:
Marie Kennedy and Chris Tilly, “Challenging Coke’s Thirst for Water: The Apizaco Story,”
Progressive Planning
, Fall 2007.
Marie Kennedy and Chris Tilly, “Challenging Coke’s Thirst for Water: The Apizaco Story,”
Progressive Planning
, Fall 2007.
Page 164 Back in the 1970s . . . best-selling soft drink:
Kate Milner, “Profile: Vicente Fox,” BBC News, July 3, 2000.
Kate Milner, “Profile: Vicente Fox,” BBC News, July 3, 2000.
Page 164 “Working at Coca-Cola”:
Sam Dillon, “From Moving Mexico’s Cola to Shaking Its Politics,”
New York Times
, May 9, 1999.
Sam Dillon, “From Moving Mexico’s Cola to Shaking Its Politics,”
New York Times
, May 9, 1999.
Page 164 Nicknamed “The Coca-Cola Kid” during his campaign . . . put him on top:
John Ross, “Fox, Inc. Takes over Mexico,”
Multinational Monitor
, March 2001; Tim McGirk, “The Moment of Truth,”
Time
, December 4, 2000; Rodolfo Montes, “Amigos de Fox: Sí recaudaron recursos durante la campaña panista,”
Proceso
, July 14, 2002; “Fox Team Includes Friends, Financial Reporters,”
America’s Insider
, October 12, 2000; “Former Fox Fund-raiser: Not All of Mexican President’s Collaborators Loyal,” Associated Press, August 8, 2003.
John Ross, “Fox, Inc. Takes over Mexico,”
Multinational Monitor
, March 2001; Tim McGirk, “The Moment of Truth,”
Time
, December 4, 2000; Rodolfo Montes, “Amigos de Fox: Sí recaudaron recursos durante la campaña panista,”
Proceso
, July 14, 2002; “Fox Team Includes Friends, Financial Reporters,”
America’s Insider
, October 12, 2000; “Former Fox Fund-raiser: Not All of Mexican President’s Collaborators Loyal,” Associated Press, August 8, 2003.
Page 165 appointed another former Coke director general:
Jesús Olguín Sánchez, “Presidency of the Republic,”
http://fox.presidencia.gob.mx/en/cabinet/?contenido=18150
.
Jesús Olguín Sánchez, “Presidency of the Republic,”
http://fox.presidencia.gob.mx/en/cabinet/?contenido=18150
.
Page 165 privatization of much of the country’s water network:
Nash, 632-633; P. Wester et al., “The Hydraulic Mission and the Mexican Hydrocracy: Regulating and Reforming the Flows of Water and Power,”
Water Alternatives
2, no. 3 (2009).
Nash, 632-633; P. Wester et al., “The Hydraulic Mission and the Mexican Hydrocracy: Regulating and Reforming the Flows of Water and Power,”
Water Alternatives
2, no. 3 (2009).
Page 165 eight concessions to dump waste in public waters:
Gustavo Castro Soto, “La Coca-Cola en México: El agua tiembla” (part 10),
Otros mundos Chiapas
, January 7, 2005, citing data from an investigative report by the now defunct Mexican newspaper
El independiente
, July 14, 2003.
Gustavo Castro Soto, “La Coca-Cola en México: El agua tiembla” (part 10),
Otros mundos Chiapas
, January 7, 2005, citing data from an investigative report by the now defunct Mexican newspaper
El independiente
, July 14, 2003.
Page 165 $650 million in annual profits:
“Mexico: Coca-Cola FEMSA Sales, Profits, Jump,”
Just-drinks.com
, February 12, 2010.
“Mexico: Coca-Cola FEMSA Sales, Profits, Jump,”
Just-drinks.com
, February 12, 2010.
Page 165 as little as three-hundredths of a cent . . . “Nothing”:
Jordan, 134-135.
Jordan, 134-135.
Page 165 wearing black ski masks:
Mihalis Mentinis,
Zapatistas: The Chiapas Revolt and What It Means for Radical Politics
(London: Pluto, 2006).
Mihalis Mentinis,
Zapatistas: The Chiapas Revolt and What It Means for Radical Politics
(London: Pluto, 2006).
Page 166 Subcomandante Marcos . . . several Zapatista bases:
Mentinis, 20; Worth H. Weller,
Conflict in Chiapas: Understanding the Modern Mayan World
(North Manchester, IN: DeWitt, 2000), 84.
Mentinis, 20; Worth H. Weller,
Conflict in Chiapas: Understanding the Modern Mayan World
(North Manchester, IN: DeWitt, 2000), 84.
Page 166 “We have a way”:
Beverly Bell, “Cola Wars in Mexico: Tzotzil Indians in Mexico Know the Dangers of Globalization and Soda Pop,”
In These Times
, October 6, 2006.
Beverly Bell, “Cola Wars in Mexico: Tzotzil Indians in Mexico Know the Dangers of Globalization and Soda Pop,”
In These Times
, October 6, 2006.
Page 167 too egregious for some to ignore:
John Ross, “Coca-Cola’s Raid on a Sacred Mountain,”
Counterpunch
, September 7, 2007.
John Ross, “Coca-Cola’s Raid on a Sacred Mountain,”
Counterpunch
, September 7, 2007.
Page 167 coalition of neighborhood groups:
César Morales, interview by the author.
César Morales, interview by the author.
Page 168 spend some $50 million annually:
Gustavo Castro, interview by the author.
Page 168 “The adults aren’t salvageable”:
Teresa Zepeda, interview by the author.
Gustavo Castro, interview by the author.
Page 168 “The adults aren’t salvageable”:
Teresa Zepeda, interview by the author.
Page 168 In 1999, the Coca-Cola Foundation . . . put up $155,000:
Jordan, 102.
Jordan, 102.
Page 169 authorization for a small bottling plant:
Jordan, 110; Domínguez, interview by the author.
CHAPTER 7. “SYRUPIN THE VEINS”Jordan, 110; Domínguez, interview by the author.
Page 172 sales languished over the years:
Testimony of Richard I. Kirby, Oral argument and evidentiary hearing, April 22, 2005,
SINALTRAINAL, et al. v. The Coca-Cola Company, et al.
, United States District Court, Southern District of Florida, 1:2001-cv-03208 (hereafter
SINALTRAINAL v. Coke
); William José Alberto Cruz Suarez deposition, Isidro Gil investigation, Fiscalía de la Nación, Unidad de Derechos Humanos, Radicado Preliminar No. 164, República de Colombia (hereafter
Gil
), vol. 2, pp. 191-196. (Cruz was Bebidas’s lawyer in Colombia.)
Testimony of Richard I. Kirby, Oral argument and evidentiary hearing, April 22, 2005,
SINALTRAINAL, et al. v. The Coca-Cola Company, et al.
, United States District Court, Southern District of Florida, 1:2001-cv-03208 (hereafter
SINALTRAINAL v. Coke
); William José Alberto Cruz Suarez deposition, Isidro Gil investigation, Fiscalía de la Nación, Unidad de Derechos Humanos, Radicado Preliminar No. 164, República de Colombia (hereafter
Gil
), vol. 2, pp. 191-196. (Cruz was Bebidas’s lawyer in Colombia.)
Page 172 sectarian bloodletting . . . Manuel Marulanda:
Robin Kirk,
More Terrible Than Death: Massacres, Drugs, and America’s War in Colombia
(New York: Public Affairs, 2003), 15-41; Steven Dudley,
Walking Ghosts: Murder and Guerrilla Politics in Colombia
(New York: Routledge, 2004), 3-19.
Robin Kirk,
More Terrible Than Death: Massacres, Drugs, and America’s War in Colombia
(New York: Public Affairs, 2003), 15-41; Steven Dudley,
Walking Ghosts: Murder and Guerrilla Politics in Colombia
(New York: Routledge, 2004), 3-19.
Page 172 Fuerzas Armadas . . . Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia:
Kirk, 47-55; Dudley, 19.
Kirk, 47-55; Dudley, 19.
Page 173 infiltrated the unions in the banana-processing plants:
Dudley, 129.
Dudley, 129.
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