Economic Manipulation

It also shows the role of the multinationals in the West. It follows the struggles of workers in Greenville, Massachusetts, to prevent their factory shifting its operations to South Carolina. Many multinationals close down factories in the US and Europe, only to open again somewhere in the third world. The advantages are a cheap and "stable" labour force, and often hefty tax incentives as well.

The drive is for profits, without concern for the unemployment they leave behind or the deplorable conditions they subject third world workers and their families to. One businessman even went so far as to claim that Singaporean "girls" like repetitive work because it suits them!

Controlling Interest focuses on Brazil, where a so-called economic miracle has tripled the GNP since 1974. But 80% of the people have grown poorer, victims of the multinationals' manipulation of their economy: For example, the staple crop blackbeans used to provide an important source of protein in the Brazilian diet. These days, blackbeans are no longer grown in any -significant amounts. They have been replaced by export crops, leading to huge profits for the multinationals and widespread malnutrition for the masses of the people. Their poverty, being forced to live in dwellings made of wooden boxes and tin cans, makes the barracks of Soweto look luxurious.