Competing full-page ads have appeared in La Jornada and other major Mexican newspapers, over an initiative, backed by the Bloomberg Foundation, for a tax on soft drinks in Mexico. The Mexican government is considering a tax of 7.7 cents per liter, which is only half of what health advocates have asked for.
Mexico is the largest per-capita consumer of Coca-Cola in the planet, and is currently running neck-and-neck with the United States for the distinction of having the world's most obese population.
Under these circumstances, one would think that a tax on soft drinks would be a no-brainer. Unfortunately, FEMSA, the bottler of Coca-Cola and one of Mexico's largest corporations, has come out in opposition, and has brought Mexico's convenience store operators along with them. FEMSA owns the OXXO chain of convenience stores. They also own 15% of Heineken International, and are the brewers of Dos Equis.
Elisabeth Malkin wrote an article about it in the New York Times:
Mexico Takes Bloomberg-Like Swing at Soaring Obesity.