If in the 1990s the arrival of a McDonald's restaurant in

Pushkin Square foretold the fall of the Soviet Union and the

years of ringing triumph for U.S. imperialism, the dawn of the

new millennium has confirmed the international fast-food king's

role as the black beast of the new wave of globalization.

Its Moscow opening was the fruit of deals made by Canadian

emissaries. The first Russian McDonald's was represented a

million-dollar investment and became a main attraction for the

nascent bourgeoisie overnight. This representation of the

"American way of life" became the most elegant meeting place

for up-and-coming entrepreneurs and the nouveau riche

inhabitants of Russia's capital city.

Ten years have passed, the world has changed a great deal, and

this gastronomic symbol of U.S. hegemony is now a victim of

the very phenomenon that engendered its success:

globalization.

In Seattle and Quebec, in Paris and Milan, a rejection of

neoliberalism and its uncontrollable propagation has

transformed the golden arches, the chain's famous logo, into

public enemy number one for the vast legions of

antiglobalization activists.

In Paris a group of young people called AARRG (Apprentice

Agitators for a Network of Resistance of Globalization)

attacked 20 McDonald's with stink bombs; in Rome, Turin,

Naples and Palermo, thousands of Italians attacked dozens of

McDonald's by throwing ground beef at the windows; in London

McDonald's was ransacked when riots broke out during an

anti-globalization protest.

In fact the name of the U.S. firm has become an inevitable

protest target, not only because of its "imperial" nature but

also because of everything that capitalism represents:

uncontrollable consumerism, environmental contamination,

foods lacking in nutritional value, no respect for the worker

and other disasters.

THE NEW ASTERIX