Here at True Activist, we´re not big fans of Coca Cola. It is an effective household cleaner, it damagesour bodies and is known to kill insects, it turns into a tar-like substance when boiled and has strangeeffects on our brains. Did we mention that Coca Cola has a long and dark history of sending its militias after workers who dare to demand better conditions?
The above video is a trailer for the Coca Cola case, a documentary released in 2013 which deserves much more attention than it has had so far.
The film is a legal thriller, a fascinating and shocking tale of corporate greed at any price, the story of how Coca Cola´s security forces “utilized extreme violence, murdered, tortured, unlawfully detained or otherwise silenced trade union leaders” in Colombia and other places around the world.
The corporation also stands accused of union-busting in Pakistan, Nicaragua and Guatemala to name a few. In Turkey allegations of intimidation, human rights abuses and the beating of union activists abound. In addition, a former Coca Cola business partner claimed the company has illegitimate dealings with Uzbekistan’s authoritarian government.
This is before we even get started on Coke´s dismal environmental record. It faced legal action in 2005 after a Nigerian lawyer accused the world’s biggest soft drinks company of pumping untreated waste into a lagoon in the port area of Apapa, as well as contaminating groundwater in El Salvador and other Latin American countries.
Trade union leader assassinations and threats by paramilitaries employed by the corporation to disband unions or lose their jobs are commonplace in developing countries, and this documentary details how Coca Cola has refused to take responsibility for these crimes.
It´s a must-watch, and one more reason to stop buying their drinks!
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