In 2006 when Hugo Chavez was acting up people across the country called for a Citgo boycott — it was half-hearted and never went very far. Now that Hugo is saber-rattling once again, dealers in Conservative areas of America might find themselves in a bind. See this story in Knoxnews.com:
George Vazquez, owner of a convenience store and gas station on Kingston Pike in West Knoxville, is among several local independent Citgo station operators who will be switching to Marathon Oil of Findlay, Ohio, in the coming weeks.
“My gas sales were down 30 percent last year,” Vazquez said. “People will come into the store and buy groceries, but they tell me they won’t buy gas from Citgo.”
The problems with Citgo increased after Chavez’s September 2006 visit to the United Nations where he referred to President Bush as “the devil.”
Is it a sign of a full fledged boycott to come? I will wait and and see since this is just one area. Besides that, there’s always the Marxist Counter-boycott to consider.
[aside: A Marxist newsletter can join Google news, but they won’t have me, now that’s frustrating.]
h/t Robert Bidinotto
Picture Credit: Michael Patrick, Knoxnews.com