Ángel Asturizaga is executive secretary of the General Confederation of Factory Workers of Bolivia (CGTFB),
an organization that includes the Union of Coca-Cola Workers among its members.

-How is the Confederation formed?

-It’s formed by trade unions from several industries, including the beverage, dairy, wood, and cement industries, among others, and it represents some 300,000 workers in all.

-Are there any transnational corporations operating in the dairy sector?

-There are both national companies and the Peruvian-based transnational corporation GLORIA.

-The Confederation is in turn a member of the Bolivian Central Federation of Workers (COB), is that correct?

-Yes.

-And you work at Coca-Cola…

-I work at the bottling company Embotelladoras Bolivianas Unidas SA (Embol), and I’m general secretary of the Mixed Union of Workers of Embol.

-Embol owns four plants…

-Yes, one in La Paz, one in Santa Cruz, one in Cochabamba, and one in Tarija, and there are also four trade unions. Two months ago we formed an inter-union body that groups all four unions.

-What do you think of the possibility of your organization joining the Latin American Federation of Coca-Cola Workers (FELATRAC)?

-We think the world has changed enormously and we need to adapt the way we work actions to the current circumstances. Which is why we need new labor structures and we decided to start by forming a national inter-union body. Now we are going to work to apply for international membership in FELATRAC and the IUF, because we need to expand in terms of support, information sharing and exchanges.