McDonald’s opuscil Boliwie juz w 2002 roku, po pieciu ‘chudych’ latach, ale dopiero stosunkowo niedawno faktem tym zainteresowali sie ludzie na calym swiecie. Powodem tak poznego naglosnienia tego tematu moze byc film, ktory powstal w roku 2011 – ”Por que quebro McDonald’s en Bolivia,” (”Dlaczego McDonald’s zbankrutowal w Boliwii?”).
Foto: remezcla.com
Dlaczego wiec McDonald’s, chyba najbardziej popularny fast food na calym swiecie, nie zagrzal dlugo miejsca w Estado Pluronacional? Tutaj pojawia sie wiele teorii, w tym teorii spiskowych, ale tak naprawde wiele czynnikow wplynelo na taki stan rzeczy.
- Sami Boliwijczycy mowia, iz fast food nie przyjal sie w ich kraju, poniewaz tradycyjnie ich potrawy sa o wiele zdrowsze. Poza tym, sa oni kulturowo przyzwyczajeni sa do tzw. slow food, czyli powolnego jedzenia, przygotowanego starannie i higienicznie. Z jednej strony jest to prawda – Boliwijczycy uwielbiaja jesc duzo, ale posilek rozlozony jest na czesci, urozmaicony rozmowa, spiewami, czy nawet tancem (w lokalnych restauracjach). Troche jak dzien pracy przerwany sjesta.
Z drugiej jednak strony, ulice miast i miasteczek usiane sa, szczegolnie po zmierzchu, budkami i wozkami z tradycyjna comida rapida (fast food) – burgerami, kielbaskami, ozorkami plywajacymi w skwierczacym tluszczu niewiadomego pochodzenia. Do tego biala bulka, salata, pomidory i cebula, przygotowane na najruchliwszych skrzyzowaniach, w smogu wydobywajacym sie z przejezdzajacych obok samochoodow. Szybko i tanio, ale czy zdrowo i higienicznie?
- Nie bez znaczenia jest tez cena jedzenia. W McDonald’s burgery kosztowaly zapewnie ok. 20-50 bs. (tyle trzeba zaplacic w Burger Kingu), a podobna kanapka z ulicznego stoiska kosztuje 5 – 10 bs. Niezla roznica, prawda?
- Niektorzy mowia, ze menu w McDonald’s nie spotkalo sie z aprobata Boliwijczykow, ale dopiero co wspomnialam Burger Kinga, ktory radzi sobie calkiem dobrze w kraju Inkow. Dodam do tego Subway, ktory jest obecny np. na lotniskach (choc jeden obok naszego apartamentu niedawno przeksztalcil sie we ‘Yourway‘:).
Jakby nie bylo, restauracje McDonald’s sa mniej wiecej w tym samym stylu, co powyzej wspomniane, czyli takie bezosobowe i kliniczne, w typie: zjesc i wyjsc, a ceny podobne. W czym wiec zawinil McDonald’s?
Moj Freddy na to pytanie odpowiedzial bez zastanowienia: Burger King jest smaczniejszy niz McDonald’s, dlatego iz uzywa ‘flame grill’ (czyli ze mieso pachnie dymem). A po krotkim zastanowieniu dodal, ze marze za prawa do franchaise’u w McDonald’s sa zapewne wyzsze niz w innych fast foodach, i ich wlasciciele po prostu sie nie wyplacali. Ma to sens, prawda?
- Przegladajac fora internetowe, natknelam sie rowniez na taki oto komentarz:
The true reason they hate fast food is because they hate anything from America. Bolivia is one of the leaders in cancer death rate. I still have not heard of a Bolivian Native that didn’t die of cancer. They barely eat any vegetables. These articles are making it sound like Bolivians are sooo healthy. They hate fast food for the wrong reasons: racism. Everyone should hate fast food because it’s unhealthy. If you visit Bolivia do Not tell them you’re an American. I know how they react.
W wolnym tlumaczeniu: Boliwijczycy nienawidza wszystkiego, co pochodzi z USA. Nienawidza wiec fast foodu z powodow rasistowskich, nie dlatego, iz jest on niezdrowy.
Prawda to, czy nieprawda, ze McDonald’s padl ofiara nienawisci? Coz, Burger King czy Subway tez sa z Ameryki Polnocnej, ale moze faktycznie ich nazwy nie kojarza sie tak bardzo z imperializmem, jak stary dobry McDonald (ktorego nazwisko pochodzi notabene ze Szkocji).
Faktem jest, iz biedniejsza czesc spoleczenstwa nie przepada za Stanami Zjednoczonymi, a ta niechec potegowana jest indoktrynacja rzadu Evo Moralesa, ale ta bogatsza czesc, zapatrzona jest w Ameryke jak w obrazek. Dowody? Ulice wiekszych miast, szczegolnie Santa Cruz, zapelnione sa drogimi butikami o nazwach anglojezycznych, jak np. Dash, znany z reality show o rodzinie Kardashian, a najpopularniejszym kierunkiem na wakacje stalo sie ostatnio Miami (Disneyland i te sprawy). Moga tutaj nie lubic Amerykanow, ale z cala pewnoscia Boliwijczycy uwielbiaja amerykanski styl zycia!
Moze wiec McDonald’s byl za drogi dla ubozszej czesci spoleczenstwa i za tani dla bogatych? W koncu w Europie i Ameryce jest to najtansze jedzenie na rynku, nastawione glownie na niezamoznych klientow, mlodziez czy turystow, chcacych zjesc ‘dobrze’, szybko i tanio.
W Boliwii zas szybko i tanio mozna zjesc na bazarze czy wprost z ulicy, a od drozszych restauracji wymaga sie bardziej kreatywnego menu i lepszej obslugi niz typowy McDonald’s ma do zaoferowania.
* Boliwia nie jest jedynym krajem wolnym od McDonald’s. Zrodla donosza, iz restauracja ta ‘uciekla’ rowniez z Jamajki.
Zrodla: http://wafflesatnoon.com/2013/05/13/mcdonalds-banned-in-bolivia/, http://www.trueactivist.com/mcdonalds-goes-belly-up-in-bolivia/ oraz obserwacje wlasne.
***
McDonald’s has left Bolivia in 2002, after five years of operation, due a lack of profits, but only recently this fact caught an attention of people all over the world . The reason for this sudden interest in the topic can be a movie , made in 2011 – “ Por que quebro McDonald’s en Bolivia ” (” Why McDonald’s failed in Bolivia ? ‘) .
Why, then McDonald’s, probably the most popular fast food chain restaurants around the world , did not stay long in Estado Pluronacional ? There are many theories , including conspiracy theories , but really a lot of factors contributed to this state of affairs .
■ Bolivians say that fast food is not popular in their country, because traditionally their meals are much healthier. In addition, they are culturally accustomed to so called slow food, prepared carefully and hygienically. On the one hand, this is true – Bolivians love to eat a lot, but the meal usually is spread in a time, enjoyed with conversation, singing, or even dancing (at local restaurants). A bit like working day interrupted by siesta.
But on the other hand, the streets of towns and cities are dotted, especially after dark, with booths and carts serving traditional comida rapida ( fast food ) – burgers , sausages and tongues floating in sizzling fat of unknown origin, with an addition of white bun, lettuce, tomatoes and onions, prepared on the busiest crossings in the exhaust from the cars and busses driving past. Fast and cheap, but healthy and hygienic ?
■ The price of food is a very significant factor. The McDonald ‘s burgers costed about 20-50 bs. (so you have to pay at Burger King) , and a similar burger from a street stand costs about 5 – 10 bs . A huge difference , right?
■ Some say that the menu at McDonald’s was not of taste of Bolivians , but even just mentioned Burger King is doing quite well in the country of Incas. I would add to this Subway, present at the airports (however, the one next to our apartment recently transformed into a ‘ Yourway ‘) .
Moreover, McDonald’s restaurants are more or less in the same style as the above mentioned fast food chains: impersonal and clinical, ‘eat and go out’ type , and prices alike. How so McDonald’s failed ?
My Freddy answered that question without hesitation: because Burger King is tastier, as it uses flame grill to prepare meat. And Bolivian people love their meat smokey. And after a while, Freddy added that McDonald’s franchise is probably too expensive to make ends meet in country like Bolivia. Makes sense, doesn’t it?
■ Browsing the forums , I came across such a comment :
The true reason they hate fast food is because they hate anything from America . Bolivia is one of the leaders in cancer death rate. I still have not heard of a Bolivian native that did not die of cancer . They barely eat any vegetables . These articles are making it sound like Bolivians are sooo healthy . They hate fast food for the Wrong Reasons : racism . Everyone Should hate fast food because it’s unhealthy . If you visit Bolivia to Not tell them you’re an American . I know how they react .
The comentator didn’t really get cancer rates and vegetables part correct, but is it true or false that McDonald’s was the victim of hate? Well, Burger King and Subway are also from North America , but maybe their names are not so associated with imperialism as much as the good old McDonald’s (which name in fact comes from Scotland).
Poorer part of society doesn’t actually like the United States, and this reluctance is compounded by indoctrination of government of Evo Morales. But the richer part is staring in America as at the picture. Evidence ? Streets of the big cities , especially Santa Cruz, are filled with expensive boutiques arunder the English names, such as Dash, known for the Kardashians’ reality show, and the most popular holiday destination recently became Miami (Disneyland and stuff ). They may not like Americans, byt they definately love an American lifestyle!
And so, maybe McDonald’s was too expensive for the poorer part of society and too cheap for the rich ? In the end, in Europe and America, it is the cheapest fast food on the market, focused mainly on low-income customers , young people and backpackers, who wish to eat ‘ well ‘, quickly and cheaply.
In Bolivia, quickly and cheaply you can eat at the market or directly from the street, and the more expensive restaurant requires a more creative menu and a better service than the typical McDonald’s has to offer.
* Bolivia is not the only country free from McDonald’s . Sources report that the restaurant has ‘ escaped ‘ also from Jamaica.
Old McDonald had a restaurant,
E-I-E-I-O!
Sources : http://wafflesatnoon.com/2013/05/13/mcdonalds-banned-in-bolivia/ , http://www.trueactivist.com/mcdonalds-goes-belly-up-in-bolivia/ and my own observations .
B O L I V I A in my eyes 