|
|
|||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
||||||
 |
CUBA VIVE | ||||||
|
On the trail of Bacardi Hernando Calvo Ospina is the author of Ron Bacardi: la guerra occulta (Bacardi's Secret War), reviewed in the last issue of FRFI. FRFI interviewed him on a recent visit to London. FRFI: In your book you mention that it is its secretiveness that makes Bacardi attractive to the CIA. Calvo Ospina: Bacardi's relationship with the CIA goes back a long way - it started with the preparations for the Bay of Pigs invasion (1961). You might say that Bacardi is not directly engaged in politics, but pays for others to advance its political interests, and although Bacardi is not a US company it has been extremely useful to the US. Have you got any comments about Otto Reich's appointment as head of Latin American policy for the Bush administration? It is frightening. But it is Bush's way of paying back the people of Florida - he won the election thanks to them. Bush's brother Jeb (Governor of Florida) has always been a right hand of the Cuban-American Mafia. Reich is a personal friend of Jeb's, and he has also been a CANF (Cuban-American National Foundation) treasurer. His appointment is a reward for the extreme right and the Cuban-American Mafia. Reich is a danger not only to Cuba, but also to the people of Colombia, Venezuela and Ecuador. |
|
Is Bacardi's role just another aspect of globalisation? Bacardi says the state should not interfere in business and trading. So the capitalist state protects these business interests. One of the most absurd things at present is the privatisation of energy in Chicago. Sometimes they cut off supplies for a day in order to save them. Why? Because it was privatised. |
 |
|
In Spain a similar thing happened, the 'Socialist Party' sold part of the telephone company to the Mas Canosa
family who after a while said to the government 'sorry, we cannot manage this any
longer' and gave it back to the government. But all they handed back were some papers,
because they had sold off the computers, equipment and buildings beforehand. They gave
back nothing! And they left 2,000 Spanish workers unemployed.
Bacardi has become part of this globalisation madness with its attempt to pirate the name and trade mark of Havana Club from Cuba and the multinational which is marketing Cuban Havana Club (Pernod-Ricard). So we have a situation where the European Union is expected to capitulate to the US which is defending the interests of a private company which isn't even US-owned! What do you think of the call to boycott Bacardi? I would like to say that for me it is a political and humanitarian crime that Bacardi is trying to starve the Cuban nation into submission. Now I am not going to say don't drink Bacardi, drink Havana Club. If people decide to drink Bacardi - fine, although it is the worst rum I have had! It's a matter of conscience. It won't be easy to organise a boycott, as Bacardi is one of the 10 most powerful companies in the world. But if we manage to get people to say: I don't see a bat but a Dracula figure, it will be a step forward. It is extremely important to have campaigns that get to young people. The new Bacardi drink is aimed at young people with its 'innocent' 5.4% alcohol. But bit by bit young people will drink more and more. It is more alcoholic than a beer and it is the first step into increased alcohol consumption. As adults you move on to their rum which is 40%, and that is definitely bad for your health. The work needs to raise the consciousness of youth about the politics that plays with the health of the people and which also manipulates information and laws, and which tramples over other nations. So if the campaign is able to persuade people that Bacardi is doing wrong, that it has a dark and secret history, it will be important. From Fight Racism! Fight Imperialism! 161 June/July 2001 |
||||||