Pepsi Co Essay Example

Pepsi Co Essay Founded in 1893, Pepsi is a carbonated soft drink that is a product of the firm â€Å"PepsiCo. † It the 1920s and 1930s it was the leading soft drink company in the market. From then to now a lot has changed in terms of market scenario as well as product development. The current market scenario comprises of two main market leaders in the soft drink industry, namely, Pepsi and Coca-Cola (Coke). In addition to these other competitors include Thumbs up, Limca, etc. Pepsi faces heavy competition in the Indian market that is so diverse in terms of cultures, traditions, tastes and preferences. Narrowing the research to the city of Pune specifically, within India, it can be noticed that the consumer preference is more for Pepsi or Coke over the others. Since Pune is largely a student hub, it contains a lot of the younger generation population. Thus with the research conducted through this study, Pepsi will be able to study how it could get an upper hand over its competitors in the potential and booming market of Pune in terms of brand awareness and consumer preference. Need of the Study The need of the study conducted is highlighted below †¢Will help with competitor analysis. Will help the company to get an idea about consumer tastes and preference. †¢Will help the company get an upper hand over its competitors. †¢Will help the company to gain market dominance. †¢Will ensure brand loyalty. As it can be studied from the above graph which is based on the responses received from the target market of this study, Coke and Pepsi have a neck to neck competition with Coke leading as compared to the other companies including Pepsi. Thus the main need of this study is for Pepsi to analyze ways in which it could replace Coke to be the market dominator in Pune. We will write a custom essay sample on Pepsi Co specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Pepsi Co specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Pepsi Co specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer It must focus on the branding, pricing and packaging parameters mainly in order to improve or introduce newer products into the market and that is exactly the kind of information this study would provide the firm with. Scope of the Study Scope of the study includes- †¢Parameters such as competitor analysis, branding and packaging analysis. †¢It focuses on carbonated soft drinks. †¢Does not include water and alcoholic beverages. †¢Limited to the city of Pune. †¢Research conducted of behalf of Pepsi. †¢Includes bottled as well as can soft drinks. †¢Limited to age group of about fifteen to forty five years. Both males and females included. Methods of Data Collection There are two methods of data collection- 1. Primary 2. Secondary Primary Data was collected through the use of questionnaire. First hand information was made available by distributing questionnaires to 50 people in the target market. Secondary It refers to collection of data that already e xists and is within reach of everyone else as well. For the purpose of this study secondary data methods such as the internet and various articles were used. Statistical Tools Used †¢Bar Graph †¢Pie Charts †¢Questionnaire Company Profile Pepsi is a product of the company PepsiCo that is an American multinational company that has its base in New York. It was founded in 1965, after the merger of Pepsi-Cola Company and Frito Lay. The CEO of the firm is a dynamic Indian lady named Indra Krishnamurthy Nooyi, who has held her position since 2006. PepsiCo owns various firms, namely- ?Frito Lay ?Tropicana ?Quaker Oats ?Gatorade Various products introduced include ?Diet Pepsi ?Lipton Ice Tea ?7 Up ?Mountain Dew ?Miranda ?Lays ?Doritos These are a few products amongst many others. Few of PepsiCo’s rival firms include- Coca-Cola ?Kraft ?Red Bull ?Nestle ?Snapple Thus to summarize the above data, since 1965, the year PepsiCo was founded, it has extended its product line not only in the beverage market but also in the food market. Its product lines include Pepsi, Lays, Doritos, 7 Up, Gatorade, etc. Its ever-expanding innovation in terms of products is the number one unique selling point. PepsiCo focuses on carbonated drink s such as 7 Up, Pepsi, Diet Pepsi. It has non-carbonated drinks like Lipton Ice Tea and Aquafina. Its products in the snack market include Doritos, Lays (Magic Masala, Salted, Caribbean, etc). Thus PepsiCo has a strong market hold in terms of its product line and diversification making it one of the leading beverage companies globally. SWOT Analysis Below is the SWOT analysis for PepsiCo StrengthWeakness †¢Brand Name †¢Vast product line †¢Competent CEO†¢Unhealthy products †¢Less focus on main product due to vast product line. OpportunityThreats †¢Innovative products for future †¢More successful mergers/acquisitions †¢Positive market potential. †¢Change in consumer preference and tastes †¢Increasing competiton

Should America Police the Worl essays

Should America Police the Worl essays There are two clearly defined sides to this question. One side would like to see America take a state of neutrality when it comes to overseas intervention. This side includes the anti-war protestors and critics questioning the recent war on Iraq. They say that America should let other countries worry about their own problems, because Americans already have enough problems to agonize over. Since America is the only superpower left in the world they have a responsibility to keep the peace, which calls for them to play the role of the worlds police force. This leads to the other side of the question, where war-supporters argue that if America doesnt step up to the plate to control evil tyrants, then who will? In the past, there have been international organizations that have tried to promote world peace and patrol the world. For example, the League of Nations was a dismal failure and currently the United Nations is not much better. Its hard to take seriously a federation of countries whose human rights commission is chaired by Libya and whose disarmament commission will soon be chaired by Iraq. So who does that leave to be the worlds police force? Argentina? Bolivia? Cameroon? The answer is pretty obvious. It is the country with the most vibrant economy, the most passionate devotion to liberty, and the most powerful military. The only nation capable of incorporating all of the above requirements is the United States of America. The United States is the only power that can handle a showdown in the Persian Gulf, mount the kind of force that is needed to protect Saudi Arabia, and deter a crisis in the Taiwan Strait. Do we really want that job? For the past fifty years, Americans were told that policing the world was a strategic and moral obligation. They were told that they were saving the world from communism and defending their own national security. Now with the defeat of communism, with the exception of ...

Arizona State Museum building located in the University of Arizona Essay

Arizona State Museum building located in the University of Arizona - Essay Example This will take into consideration of the context, audience and the visual impact. I hope to comprehend and convey to the reader how this type of building is designed and the type of collections of the building employ the use ethos, pathos, and ethos. Audience : My audience will be the teacher of my English class. He has in depth comprehension of rhetorical appeals, in this regard I must present my argument using the accurate knowledge of rhetoric. I am obliged to avoid advocating and generalizing. Context: My paper will be one of the papers that my teacher will read this assignment, so I have to be insightful and creative in my analysis. I have to make arguments in order to grab his attention. Outline Introduction: I plan on using my introduction to establish my own ethos as well as describe the the structure and design of the building that is being analyzed. I will describe my experience in and outside of the Arizona State Museum building which will help the reader to understand tha t I had the opportunity to analyze the building at is significance in the University of Arizona. ... Introduction When we think about teaching rhetoric and critiquing rhetorical acts, we base out thoughts on text and artifacts that are primarily oral or written. Nonetheless, our day to day experiences are saturated with the rhetorical invocation that move beyond the written word to visual. The objective of this essay is to explore the multi – modality of the rhetoric and illustrates how we think about the rhetoric on a wider perspective. The arguments regarding architecture particularly invoke this focus that deals with the nature objects, spaces and artifacts (Rosteck 45). This case study looks at one specific building known as Arizona State Museum building in order to show how this type of rhetoric takes place. Despite the distinct content of the building, the visual, textual and experimental are all used mimetically. This means that multi- model rhetoric on this site imitates the form a function of a natural history museum in order to persuade its visitors of its legitimac y. The Arizona State Museum building is the oldest and the largest anthropology museum located in the southwest region of the campus was established in 1893 by the Arizona Territorial Legislature. This building is the state’s official permitting agency for archeology and paleontologist projects. This is one of the oldest research units at the University of Arizona. It is known for hosting numerous researchers around the world and allow them to use the collection to expand their frontier of their knowledge in enthology, ethnohistory and archeology. The museum resides among several buildings. Most of these buildings look similar as they are made of stone colored concrete slabs and reflective

Muhammad Ali Clay ( Cassius Marcellus ) 1942 - 1981 Essay

Muhammad Ali Clay ( Cassius Marcellus ) 1942 - 1981 - Essay Example For instance, he started training when he was only 12 years old. However, irrespective of the tender age of training, the super man acquired several skills, expertise as well as experience. This pushed him towards the realization of his first global success at the age of 221. For instance, it was at the age of 22 when Muhammad Ali first won the World heavyweight championship. This happened in the year 1964. The victory really motivated Muhammad Ali. As such, he vowed to put even more effort in order to succeed at each and every boxing event. It is of crucial significance to underscore the fact that Muhammad Ali was born a Christian. However, as he continued to grow, he later on converted to Islam. This happened in the year 1975 when he was 33 years old. Born in Louisville, Kentucky in the United States of America, Muhammad Ali, also known as Cassius Marcellus Clay played a total of 61 fights. Amongst these fight matches, he won 56 and lost 5. Amongst his victories, his total wins by knock outs included 37 in number. This paper is going to focus on Muhammad Ali relevant to his religious perspectives as well as the issue of women. Moreover, the paper is going to focus on the views of Muhammad Ali relevant to wars as well as maintenance of peace amongst individuals in the society. Furthermore, the paper is going to focus on Muhammad Ali’s take on the issue of racism as well as equality of all the people regardless of differences in races, religion as well as ethnic backgrounds. It is of crucial significance to note that Muhammad Ali, also known as Cassius Clay was really opposed to the issue of racism in the United States of America. Muhammad Ali is someone who deeply the valued the issue of equality amongst all humanities. However, it is of crucial significance to underscore the fact that the issue of racism greatly undermined as well as compromised the issue

Individuals Relationship to the Community Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Individuals Relationship to the Community - Essay Example Sartre's existentialism and Human Emotions talk about how an individual can get the essence of his individuality through his existence. According to him, humans are thrown in this world without essence and with the span of time that he spends in the world, he has the chance to make decisions for there are choices available no matter what kind of situation circumstance he will be. He also added that since the people are born in the environment where there is no external value, it is already his chance to achieve the internal value that he desires. This optimistic view of existence can be related to how people base their decisions, most of which depend on what will people say and how people will judge. The individual and the community can never be separated although that is the aim and the goal of each one, still to depart from what is real and existing as a factor of survival is absolutely impossible. That is because of the reality that man cannot live and interact with himself alone. The interaction with other people that is needed for the nourishment of his physical, mental and emotional aspects is quite significant to be disregarded. This is the same reason why the community, the place for interaction is indispensable for his survival. The disadvantage comes in when free will and personal decisions get replaced by what we call "rules," rules which Freud said to be a kind of mutual relationship which replaces the individual's freedom by the rules of the society. This means that one is restricted to do things of his desire to give way to order and justice. Individual instincts for happiness are also controlled so as to reach the level of civilization which is thought to be progr ess. And since we talked about progress as another goal of every society, we can't remove the fact that progress deals with new technology which just like what Said mentioned in his book Representations of the Intellectual can somehow alter the real meaning of freedom. This is due to social conformity that needs to be accomplished to get the work done riding along with technology. The improvements and progress being the aim of every community and society, or group of individuals which usually follow a rule will always violate the so-called "norm of freedom" which Said partly talked about in the said book. The point being raised here is that even if there is a choice for man to be totally free at a given time or place, there is always a big possibility for him to be submissive to the rules which to him will bring forth bigger advantages. The violation then comes in when the expectations of the man who went struggling to deprive himself from personal satisfaction for a bigger cause gets corrupted by a bigger longing not from an individual but from the society, which supposedly is the on that would protect and or work for his desires to be achieved. A violation can also be done to personal freedom of choice and decision is when at a moment, the basis for a particular action or agendum is already the reaction of the community which cumulatively formed the rules in the society. What went wrong between the individual and the community was the interlocking of desires both from the individual and the community. No matter how mutual the so-called rules can be, there is always a greater desire that may pass over the well-made rules of the

Argument Against a National Identification System Essay -- ID Identifi

Argument Against a National Identification System The concept of a national ID card has been debated in the United States for over three decades. In the past, the opposition as well as its allies has been strong. As a result of the September 11th terrorist attacks there has been new interest in the concept of national ID cards. While this idea is not all a new, it is closer to becoming more of a reality than ever, gaining the approval by the key members of congress. Currently the Bush Administration objects this renewed idea, however due to the intense emotion from the recent terrorist attacks the nation is closer to the idea than ever before. The idea of a national identity (ID) card seems simple enough. Take the photographic and alpha-numerical information on our birth certificates, Social Security cards, driver s licenses, and voter registration card; add a bar code, fingerprint, microchip, or other biometric identifier; and display all that information on a neat plastic card no bigger than a credit card. But beneath this smooth surface hides a complex issues and perhaps the greatest threat to personal freedom Americans have ever confronted. A national ID system will Require Americans to obtain federal government authorization to travel, work, rent or buy housing, obtain medical care, use financial services, and make many purchases.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This federal authorization could be denied for many reasons, including database errors, a suspicious transaction profile, being a deadbeat parent, failure to pay taxes or fines, and any other social control measures Congress wishes to hang on the system.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     The system will almost certainly create an outlaw class--as large as 10 to 20% of the population--cut off from "normal" life in America. This outlaw class will sustain the underground economy for the use of future terrorists (and ordinary criminals). (Dority Barbara, p10)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The general questions about national ID cards and concepts involved in the debates, found on the Privacy International website at www.privacy.org/pi/activities/idcard/idcard_faq.html. Can be summarized as below: 1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Who uses ID cards now? About a hundred countries currently utilize official, compulsory, national IDs for various purposes. These include Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, and Spain. Among the developed countries that don't have such a card are Australia, Canad... ... promote new forms of discrimination and harassment of anyone who looks or sounds "foreign." Failure to carry a national I.D. card would likely come to be viewed as a reason for search, detention or arrest of minorities. The disgrace and humiliation of constantly having to prove that they are Americans or legal immigrants would ponder heavily on such groups.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   There I strongly believe that national ID system is not the solution for the problems we are facing today. We have seen before that technological solutions involve risks that should be identified and understood in advance of its use to the greatest extent possible. These risks should be discussed and understood in detail before any decisions regarding its adoption is any form should be made. Work Cited   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Dority, Barbara. ?Halt and show your paper!? Humanist. 1 March.2002, Vol.62 Issue 2   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Mohl, Jeff. ?How public is personal information?? Communications & Mass Media Complete, 1 September 2003, Vol. 91, Issue 7   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Safire, William. ?The Threat of National ID.? Kirszner and Mandell 586-88.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  http://www.aclu.org   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Privacy International www.privacy.org/pi/activities/idcard/idcard_faq.html.

Democratization of Uruguay

Giancarlo Orichio Dr. A. Arraras CPO 3055 20 November 2008 Democratic Transition and Consolidation: Uruguay A study of democratization presumes that the meaning of democratization is self-evident: defined simply as a transition of a political system from non-democracy towards accountable and representative government practices. (Grugel 3) A concept that is valid in Uruguayan politics however, has an element of potential risk that will be the topic of further analysis. Assessment of the latter will enable us to determine why Uruguay is the only one of the four former â€Å"bureaucratic-authoritarian† regimes in South America that includes Chile, Brazil, and Argentina to attain this debatably political status quo. Guillermo O’Donnell described this type of regime as an institution that uses coercive measures to respond to what they view as threats to capitalism, whereas, the only means of opposing this repressive government is by an â€Å"unconditional commitment to democracy. (O’Donnell xiii) The hierarchically lead bureaucratic-authoritarian regime as a political actor poses a possible advantage to democratization insofar that the military-as-institution may consider that their interests are best served by extrication from the military-as-government. However, seizing power to a new governing body without imposing strong constraints is improbable and has occurred predictably in Uruguayan democratic transition. Understanding th e obstacle faced by the newly fragile democratic government in managing the military and eliminating its reserved domains brings us to the task at hand. First, I will analyze the political history in Uruguay that lead up to the no doubt controversial argument that it has attained democratic consolidation. Secondly, I will analyze the factors that either contributed or hindered its journey to representative democracy; ultimately, arriving to the conclusion that Juan J. Linz and Alfred Stepan describe as a â€Å"risk-prone† consolidated democracy. On 25 August 1825, Juan Antonio Lavalleja, at the head of a group of patriots called the â€Å"treinta y tres orientales,† issued a declaration of independence. After a three-year fight, a peace treaty signed on 28 August 1828 guaranteed Uruguay's independence. During this period of political turmoil and civil war, the two political parties around which Uruguayan history has traditionally revolved, the Colorados and the Blancos, were founded. â€Å"Even by West Europen standards, [Uruguay] had a tradition of high party identification and a clear sense of a left-right index. † (Linz 152) Uruguay's first president, Gen. Jose Fructuoso Rivera, an ally of Artigas, founded the Colorados. The second president, Brig. Gen. Manuel Oribe, a friend of Lavalleja, founded the Blancos. The 19th century was largely a struggle between the two factions. However, it was not until the election of Jose Batlle y Ordonez as president in 1903 that Uruguay matured as a nation. The Batlle administrations (1903–7, 1911–15) marked the period of greatest economic performance. A distinguished statesman, Batlle initiated the social welfare system codified in the Uruguayan constitution. From then on, Uruguay's social programs, funded primarily by earnings of beef and wool in foreign markets, gave Uruguay the revered soubriquet â€Å"Switzerland of South America. † After World War II, the Colorados ruled, except for an eight-year period from 1958–66. It was during the administration of President Jorge Pacheco Areco (1967–72) that Uruguay entered a political and social crisis. As wool declined in world markets, export earnings no longer kept pace with the need for greater social expenditures. Political instability resulted, most dramatically in the emergence of Uruguay's National Liberation Movement, popularly known as the Tupamaros. This well-organized urban guerrilla movement adopted Marxist and nationalist ideals while on the other hand, most nationally important actors were disloyal or at best semi-loyal to the already established democratic regime. Their revolutionary activities, coupled with the worsening economic situation, exacerbated Uruguay's political uncertainty. Gradually, the military-as institution assumed a greater role in government and by 1973 was in complete control of the political system. By the end of 1973, the Tupamaros had been successfully controlled and suppressed by the military-as-institution. In terms of systematic repression, as Juan J. Linz and Alfred Stepan stated, â€Å"Uruguay was the most deeply repressive of the four South American bureaucratic-authoritarian regimes. (Linz 152) Amnesty international denounced Uruguay for human rights violations; in 1979, they estimated the number of political prisoners jailed at a ratio of 1 per 600, Chile and Argentina were respectively 1 in 2,000 and 1 in 1,200. (Linz 152) By 1977 the military announced that they would devise a new constitution with the intentions to â€Å"strengthen democracy. † The new constitution would be submitted to a plebiscite in 1980, and if ratified elections with a single presidential candidate nominated by both the Colorados and the Blancos and approved by the military would be held the following year. The post-authoritarian transition to democracy began in Uruguay when the democratic opposition won the plebiscite. By the 1980’s the military did not have an offensive plan to lift Uruguay from its uninterrupted bad economic performance, the Tupamaros had in fact been defeated by 1973, so a defense project against urban guerrilla was unnecessary. The military had no civil or political support, and with there loss in the plebiscite, whose results they said they would respect, tarnished the military’s political leverage significantly. Thus, the democratic opposition in the form of the two major catch all political parties that have governed de jure since the 19 century presented a non threatening alternative despite their disloyal behavior before the authoritarian coup d’etat . As previously touched on, the opportunities presented by a hierarchical military favoring democratic transition is the possibility that the leading officers of the military-as-institution will come to the conclusion that the cost of non democratic rule is greater than the cost of extrication. With the main interest resting in a stable state that will in turn allow the military to become a functioning sector of the state apparatus. However, this does not preclude the possibility of non democratic prerogatives in the transfer. The party-military negotiation called the Naval Club Pact disqualified Wilson Ferreira of the Blanco party to be nominated as president, pushed for guarantees concerning their own autonomy, and the most damaging to democracy was the curtailment of human right trails for military officials. Elections were held in 1985 were Julio Maria Sanguinetti from the Colorado party became the first democratically elected candidate in the 1977 constitution. Because of strong public discontent with Military Amnesty granted during the transition, the curtailment was sent to a referendum in 1989, were it approved the amnesty and gained democratic legitimacy by 57%. It has to be stated that the majority of Uruguayan opposed the amnesty, however the fragile democratic government confronted a troubling decision. They could have breached the Naval Club Pact and tried military officer for heir human right offenses and risked military refusal and therefore a crisis in their own authority. Or they could have hastily granted them amnesty at the cost of lowered prestige in the new democracy. It is safe to assume that the electorate voted to let the amnesty law stand not because it was just but more so to avoid a crisis. By 1992 the left-wing Frente Amplio was integrated into Uruguayan politics without any other major party leaders deeming them unacceptable arriving to the quarrelsome argument that Uruguay became a consolidated democracy. Uruguay's economic development can be divided into two starkly contrasting periods. During the first period, when it earned its valued sobriquet â€Å"Switzerland of South America,† from the late 1800s until the 1950s, Uruguay achieved remarkable growth and a high standard of living. Expanding livestock exports; principally beef and wool accounted for its economic development. The advanced social welfare programs, which redistributed wealth from the livestock sector to the rest of the economy, raised the standard of living for the majority of the population and contributed to the development of new industries. When export earnings faltered in the 1950s, however, the fabric of Uruguay's economy had begun to unravel. The country entered a decades-long period of economic stagnation. It was during the administration of President Jorge Pacheco Areco (1967–72) that Uruguay entered a political and social crisis. As wool and beef demands declined in world markets, export earnings no longer kept pace with the need for greater social expenditures causing bad economic performance that lead to the bureaucratic-authoritarian take over of government. Although the old democratic regime was not able to lift economic prosperity neither was the military-as-government. Bad economic performance still plagued the nation throughout authoritarian rule. By 1980 the military had no agenda in combating the bad economic performance that helped unveil the inadequacies of the non democratic regime. In fact, economic performance has been in a decline since 1950’s until today. Although the legitimacy that the democratic system posses in Uruguay is strong, the capacity, or as Stepan and Linz say, the â€Å"efficacy† of the democratic system in resolving the stagnant economy is low. Thus, making Uruguay’s democracy risk-prone due to an unsolved economic performance. Since the economy has been the number one issue affecting Uruguayans since the end of their golden era in the early 19 century. A public opinion poll was asked to upper class respondents weather a political alternative from the authoritarian regime at the time would speed rather than slow economic recuperation. By a margin of 2 to 1 they believed it would, more surprisingly was a 7 to 1 response to the question if a new democratic regime would bring more tranquility and public order. In 1985, of the nine institutions evaluated in terms of trust, political parties ranked highest with a net score of 57 and the armed forces with a net score of negative 73. Only 5% viewed the military sympathetically while 78% viewed the military with antipathy. (Linz 153) In my studies concerning democratization never did democracy start with such rejection of the political role of the military from all class coalitions alike. During the first half on the 19th century the norm was a two party system similar to that of the United States in that there was â€Å"low fragmentation and low polarization. † (Linz 163) However, contrary to the American vetting process the Uruguayan had a peculiar electoral system known as the double simultaneous vote that allows all parties to run multiple candidate for the presidency. This did not present a problem until after the 1960’s when presidents routinely were elected with less than 25% of the vote because of the amount of candidates running. This creates party fragmentation that can hinder democracy. The fact that the old regime political structure remains untouched means that the opportunity for constitutional change was missed and this presents a potential democratic upheaval. Behaviorally, by 1968-73 political elites were at best semi-loyal to the democratic system that soon caused the authoritarian regime to take over government, and one thing that can be done from previous failures in democratic attempts is to learn from their missteps. Stepan and Linz clearly state that for the consolidation of democracy loyalty to the system as well as the perception that all other parties are loyal to the democratic process plays a crucial role. (Linz 156) By 1985 not one of the twelve major factions of the three leading parties perceived the other parties to be acting disloyal. As well as the mere fact that the once unacceptable left-wing party, Frente Amplio, held the mayoral position of Montevideo by 1989 and then the presidency by 2004 demonstrates the positive elite choices that contributed to democracy. Since Uruguay’s troublesome and long fought battle for independence in August 25, 1828 Uruguay did not encounter any â€Å"intermestic† stateness problems. As far as Washington relations to Latin America and in particular Uruguay, the United States continues to pursue hegemony over the region. The neo-liberal reforms in place in the region are bound by the restraints of the global market and for a country like Uruguay it is very difficult to compete with such superpowers. These reforms have often left the lower classes impoverish and desperate while the upper classes and Washington feed their gluttonous appetites. The civilian government in Uruguay has found it increasingly difficult to enforce these foreign economic influences that can potentially result in authoritarian means of accomplishment. As a member of MERCOSUR, Mercado Comun del Sur, Uruguay faced foreign political influences to liberalize its economy during the 1990s, as economic giants, and MERCOSUR partners Brazil and Argentina had done. This can be potentially devastating to democracy except that Uruguay in the 1980’s had a gross national product (GNP) per capita income of 2,820, higher than any of its MERCOSUR counterparts. However, we must remember that Uruguay has been experiencing a downward economic performance since the mid 1900’s and is a potential risk that needs to be addressed to preserve democracy. United States foreign policy in Uruguay and in the rest of Latin America has encouraged for the liberalization of markets. The side effect of neo-liberal reform is the zero-sum element that produces excessive amounts of losers. Essentially the contrary to what it is intended to produce. These superpower polices implemented creates few winners most of which are â€Å"elites with government connection [that] have been the primary beneficiaries of the sweeping economic transformation. † (Kingstone 196) This transcends business when the only means of preserving this market economy is through potential authoritarian means. The contentious claim that Uruguay is a consolidated democracy since 1992 is threefold, first, because of the reluctance to fix the already proven failed double simultaneous vote electoral system. Secondly, because of civil-military relations concerning human rights violation during authoritarian rule, although was legitimized by democratic referendum, but more importantly budgetary cuts that have been implemented as a result of bad economic performance. Finally, and most importantly, Uruguayans accept democracy as the most legitimate political game, but also recognize its incapacity to fix the troubling economy, producing this efficacy-legitimacy gap that can be potentially destructive for democracy. These three factors give Uruguay the title of a risk-prone democracy. Works Cited Kingstone, Peter R. , ed. Readings in Latin American Politics. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2006. Linz, Juan, and Alfred Stepan. Problems of Democratic Transition and Consolidation. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1996. O’Donnell, Guillermo. Modernization and Bureaucratic-Authoritarianism: Studies in South American Politics. Berkley: Institute of International Studies, University of California, 1973.