Social Movements occupy Coca-Cola and warn: "Our waters are not for sale!"

Thursday, March 22, 2018

graffitiAt dawn on Thursday March 22 in the outskirts of Brasilia, about 350 activists organized by the social movements occupied the Coca-Cola industrial park to denounce the corporation’s robbery of the country's natural assets, particularly the waters. This week marks the 8th World Water Forum, a round of negotiations promoted by the UN to sell water to multinational corporations.

Nestle, Coca-Cola, Danone and other international corporations are among the world's largest users of the aquifers, large freshwater reserves located in Brazil. In the weeks before the UN event with corporations, the proposal had already been raised in the Brazilian Congress to quantify the price of the largest of them, the Guarani Aquifer.

In January, in a promiscuous relationship with these corporations, illegitimate President Michel Temer attended a dinner at the World Economic Forum in Davos with Nestlé CEO Paul Bulcke and other companies such as Ambev, Coca- Cola and Dow. They make up the 2030 Water Resources Group (2030WRG), a consortium that plans to privatize every available cubic meter of water on the planet.

The social movements published a manifesto saying "We denounce the transnationals Nestlé, Coca-Cola, Ambev, Suez, Brookfiled (BRK Ambiental), Dow AgroSciences, among others, of the 'forum of corporations'", referring to the organized event with the presence of multinationals in Brasilia. The social movements see that the intention is to privatize this and other aquifers for the production of beverages.

Besides slogans, the activists delivered their message in the form of graffiti. Participating in the action were activists from the Movement of People Affected by Dams (MAB), the People’s Youth Rising, the Small Farmers Movement (MPA) and the Landless Rural Workers Movement (MST).