Secretary Clinton Is Welcomed By Haitian President Martelly
(Image by flickr commons, US State Dept) Details DMCA
Business and policy are sure to be closely tied in the US. American businessmen, corporations and wealthy donors finance electoral campaigns of politicians who, in case they win, promote these business interests, often while enriching themselves too. These are the rules of the game. This is how the American political system works. Is it good, bad or ugly? Not so easy to say, but it is clear that this is an inevitable devil we, the American people, consider as our centuries-old tradition. For instance, the Clintons have a close connection with The Coca-Cola Company: Wendy Clark, former Senior Marketing Executive at the company, served as Hillary Clinton's image maker at the beginning of her campaign for President.
However, not only the most prominent Washington officials are close to the largest companies. Even those who are less powerful, benefiting from their contacts with Washington, help the private sector to resolve their issues without missing an opportunity to ask for something in return. Capricia Marshall, a former Chief of Protocol, who is currently serving as Clinton's special assistant in her run for the Oval Office, is a good example of such cooperation.
Mrs. Marshall maintains useful contacts with Kate Irvin, Group Director of Coca-Cola's "K Street office" in Washington, D.C. office. Before finding out what favors Marshall does for Irvin, let's look at the background of these warm relations between a former federal official and a top business lady.
Nowadays the US Administration is focusing on America's health issues as the authorities realize the obesity crisis is a real challenge the American society currently faces. In particularly, partly due to excess soft drink consumption obesity is an epidemic affecting over 100 million adults and children. In this regard for example, Philadelphia's mayor Jim Kenney plans to reduce the harm and enrich the local budget by introducing a soda tax. The American soda giants are certain to witness bad days. According to some experts, to find a pretty way out, they are looking for expanding their presence at foreign markets. So, the markets of the Central and South America and the Caribbean one are indeed far reaching. Restored relations with Cuba, which Obama has qualified as one of his most important achievement, is also on the list. As manufacturing is easy to be moved to that region from the continental US, considering a huge amount of cheap workforce and rather "thirsty" markets, the initiative looks pretty attractive. There is just one missing point: to make it the corporations require contacts with the region's political elite. So here she is, the ex-Secretary of State's assistant Capricia Marshall, appears on the stage.
As it has been told, Mrs. Irvin asked Mrs. Marshall to help with an invite list for an event held by The Coca-Cola in Washington, D.C., during February 2016. Irvin said that she needed 20 or 25 powerful politicians from Haiti, the Caribbean and the Latin America, insisting on the great number of "powerful persons". The business lady truly has an entrepreneurial spirit.
Now let's take a look at the mentioned event held by the Coca-Cola. As the company has issued an appropriate release available on the Web, we can easily do it. What a romantic pretentious name -- Haiti Hope! -- "to improve the livelihoods of more than 25,000 mango farmers". What are they really talking about?
Since when has the Coca-Cola been so worried about the livelihoods of Haiti mango farmers? Bullpucky!
The American business' cynicism has no limits indeed. The event aims is to find new markets for soda corporations squeezed by the American government concern about the health harm they cause in the US.
So, this is far from charity! Even the opposite! But nobody is confused. Neither business tycoons nor former U.S. State Department officials including Hillary Clinton, are promoting the soda industry's interests. Both politics and business that are closely tied always use lying (i.e. advertising, propaganda, and PR) as a tool to achieve their goals.
The American Big Business interests doesn't need to worry as long as the Clintons are on their Team!
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