A sign for one of the three Chisinau McDonald's.
Join "the Revolution" at my gym...
One of the kiosks that dot the city.
I wonder if the top sales representative dreams of a pink Lada...
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28 March...Democracy + Capitalism = McDonalds?
Globalization is a buzz-word in Moldova and perhaps nowhere has this
been more evident than in the various marketing campaigns around
Chisinau. We have McDonald's (actually three), we have Coca-Cola
(and Pepsi), we have American brands in the stores and everyone under
the age of 50 is wearing jeans in the American style (something that
would have seemed impossible to imagine just a few years ago.
Consumerism is part of the post-Communist life in Chisinau and freedom
is a good thing. However, I sometimes wonder if the quest for consumer
goods that is so evident here is due to the expansion of the free market
economy is also encouraging deeper understandings of democracy. My
students, here, are very interested in discussing the recent elections
in Belarus and so we have had several discussions both about whether or
not the Belarusian elections were "free" and "fair" and about whether or
not an elected government is good for the people. Afterall, 93% of
Belarusian voters turned out in the election and reelected Alyaksandr
Lukashenka to a third term as President of their republic. He won
83% of the vote--these two factors alone sound like Belarus is a
successful democracy, especially where voter turnout is concerned, but
the numbers are deceptive.
First, Lukashenka bullied the Belarusian Parliament into altering the
constitution so that he could run for a third term (previously the
President was limited to two terms). Second, his opposition in the
recent election was not given access to media or to resources to develop
broad campaign appeals. Press that has opposed Lukashenka in the
past have seen access to government officials limited and have suffered
repressions from the state. Finally, there is reason to believe
that the government may have been involved in election tampering.
This altogether smells suspicious to an American political
scientist--and to many other Americans and Western Europeans as well.
More than one of my students has told me that while Lukashenka may be
a dictator, the Belarusians have a higher standard of living than the
Moldovans. I have often thought that the fall of the former Soviet
Union had more to do with the lack of availability of consumer products
than it had to do with the triumph of western political ideals--I may be
more right than I hoped I was. One Moldovan has told me that
"democracy" is a magic word for Americans and that we are happy as long
as elections happen but are not concerned much with the basic needs of
the people. I don't agree--but I understand the perspective.
Besides, McDonald's there are some interesting intersections here
between western commercialization and Moldova. One was the day I
walked into my gym and found it covered in "hammers," "sickles," and
ominous Russian writing. These symbols are not cataloged in my
mind as particularly "pro-American," so I was quite curious about them.
I finally found out that they were a membership promotion called
"Evolution of the Revolution" which offered discounted services for a
three month time! Lenin would be rolling over in his mausoleum to
find out that the symbols of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union are
now used in marketing campaigns for gymnasiums! I joined the
revolution, by the way--gotta work off those placintas!
A stable of the former Soviet Union was the kiosk--there is one or
more near almost every apartment block all over the former Soviet Union.
Today most of them sport western cigarette advertisements--though they
sell all sorts of things besides cigarettes. Mary Kay and Avon are
here too! And, as I understand it, there is strong consumer demand
and having parties for the women is quite lucrative (maybe especially
for the women looking for western husbands). I am still waiting to
see my first pink Cadillac in Chisinau.
All said, the intersection between capitalism and democracy is a
curious one--I believe that capitalism and democracy are the best
systems available to live in. But I do wonder a bit about the
eventual outcome of globalization and economic shock on a small
country's ability to negotiate an increasingly complex world. |
