The Real Cola Wars https://nacla.org/blog/real-cola-wars

Coca Brynco is the newest addition to an assortment of coca-infused drinks produced in the Andes – all of which are illegal to bring into or sell in the United States. Marketing of the drink began in January, perhaps to coincide with Bolivia’s proposal to the United Nations that coca leaves should not be targeted for international drug control (see my last post). The drink, and perhaps more obviously its Bolivian predecessor Coca Colla,

has enormous symbolic (and its makers hope commercial) power as a direct challenge to US-manufactured Coca-Cola and all that it represents – including US economic hegemony and the dictates of drug control. In a news conference shortly after being elected, Bolivian President Evo Morales made this link explicit: “It is not possible that the coca leaf can be legal for Coca Cola and not for us. It’s hypocritical.”

[also see...Commercial Power and Drug Control: Chewing on Coca https://nacla.org/blog/commercial-power-and-drug-control-chewing-coca