Pepsi in Burma - A Globalization Catastrophe

Most of the money was channeled to the army; reportedly, the country spent 60% of its budget on defense. Naturally, economic development had taken a backseat all along. Even basic facilities such as telecommunications were severely underdeveloped. Devoid of the benefits of global trade, Burma's economy was in shambles at the end of the 1980s. Over the years, the government had sold vast tracts of forest land to foreign companies to earn the much-needed foreign currency (as a result, Burma became one of the most rapidly deforesting countries in the world). The SLORC was reportedly finding it difficult to generate the required funds to expand the armed forces and finance its other plans. Under these circumstances, the decision to open the economy to foreign players was but natural...

ABSDF sources said, "The urgent need of the Burmese people today is not Pepsi-Cola, but the restoration of democracy, human rights, and peace." Instead of trying to understand the protestors' point of view, Pepsi tried to justify its presence in Burma.

The company argued that its presence would help solve the country's problems.

However, critics were not willing to accept this stand; they said that there was absolutely no indication that the presence of Pepsi (and that of other MNCs) was improving the political environment of the country. On the contrary, since the entry of MNCs into Burma, the country's army had increased in size...