A Sip of Idealism

Bolivian President Evo Morales didn't chew coca leaves at UN meetings just for the heck of it.

In an interesting politicial, social, and economic move, Bolivia's socialist leader has decided to manufacture a product that will give our capitalistic society something to think about:
A new Coca-Colla.

The name isn't a coincidence. It's intention is to give the U.S.'s Coca-Cola Company a run for its money, and theoretically put it into somewhat of a "villainous" position. According to the article at www.treehugger.com/files/2010/01/bolivia-enters-cola-war-with-new-coca-colla.php?campaign=weekly_nl , Bolivia's Coca-Colla will "kill two birds with one stone. Not only is the socialist leader drumming up support for standing up against the great capitalist symbol (responsible for inspiring terms like "Coca-Colanization"), he's aiming resources to bring a boon to the nation's coca growers."

The project, expected to reach completion in about four months, is expected to further increase Bolivia's controversy with the U.S. Now, I'm not a political theorist, but it seems to me that Bolivia's move, while done for "good" (depending on how you interpret the word) reasons, may not be the smartest, especially considering that the work force of the American Coca-Cola giant is larger than the Bolivian standing army by about 20,000.

The way in which Bolivia is propagating the project seems to me to be actively attracting negative attention from the U.S., and while this seems to be intentional, I can't help but wonder: what if they had put it in a more positive light? For example, instead of openly stating the "point" this new product is supposed to demonstrate to the U.S., perhaps they should merely tout the fact that it is not only helping support the economy of Bolivia, but also helping the nation's farmers- something the U.S. has yet to do in both respects. By assuming the same name as its American counterpart, Coca-Colla will be an outright statement of the aggressive stance Bolivia has taken with the U.S. in the past, and done nothing to resolve.

It remains to be seen what the colors and logo will look like for this upcoming brand, and if the government will keep the project completely state-run or if they'll try to attract private capital (which, if they did, wouldn't that kind of defeat the purpose of this anti-capitalistic soda?). I have to believe that it won't make use of the same colors or font that the current Coca-Cola uses for its brand, because if it did, it would then be relegated to the same status as impostor brands for companies such as Starbucks in other countries, and this soda is much too meaningful for that.

The Impostor Soda of Idealism. Hmm. The name itself makes me wonder whether Bolivia is just trying to ride off of Coca-Cola's success, or if they really mean it when they say they're trying to demonstrate a point. I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

In the meantime, I think I'll go pop open a can of refreshing capitalism.