In a remote mountain town where clean drinking water is considered a luxury, locals are turning to Coca-Cola – and not just for refreshment.
In Mexico‘s poorest and southernmost state of Chiapas, fizzy drinks are deeply ingrained in the local culture.
And in the town of San Cristobal de las Casas, the obsession has spiralled out of control, with some residents guzzling up to two litres of Coca-Cola every day, or around 800 litres a year, according to the Chiapas and Southern Border Multidisciplinary Research Center.
The iconic red and white logos line shop shelves, street stalls and even sacred shrines.
And the town’s obsession with Coca-Cola does not stop there, as some residents are even known to fill their children’s baby bottles with Coke instead of milk.
An hour away from San Cristobal, in the Indigenous town of San Andres, locals consider the fizzy beverage liquid gold.
Shamans will use it as part of their religious ceremonies and regularly pray over bottles of Coca-Cola as they carry out rituals.
Fridges stocked with bottles of Coke sit next to their sacred shrines, ready to sell to faithful locals who use them as offerings, as many believe the drink has healing powers.
In Mexico’s poorest and southernmost state of Chiapas, fizzy drinks are deeply ingrained in the local culture
The iconic red and white bottles line shop shelves, street stalls and even sacred shrines
Shamans will use it as part of their religious ceremonies and regularly pray over bottles of Coca-Cola as they carry out rituals.
But religion is not the only reason for the state’s dependency on Coca-Cola, and behind the ritual lies a dark reality.
With a growing population, safe drinking water has become increasingly scarce in the area, with some neighbourhoods only having access to running water a few times a week.
Just 7 per cent of households in Chiapas believe their water is safe to drink, according to a 2023 national survey, forcing many to buy bottled water or the fizzy drink, which is just as cheap.
A local plant owned by Femsa, a food and drink conglomerate that owns the rights to bottle and sell Coca-Cola in Latin America, is allowed to extract more than 1.3million litres of water a day as part of a concession with the federal government, all while local communities struggle to find safe drinking water.
Critics believe the multinational is guilty of having created a web of addiction.
Doctor Marcos Arana, who campaigns against the power and influence of Coca-Cola, says that ‘Coca-Cola has developed a strategy precisely so that it’s available anywhere.
‘They convince consumers to sell soft drinks on a small scale and obviously generates many captive customers’.
The crisis goes back to 1994, when Mexico signed the North American Free Trade Agreement, which paved the way for cheap and accessible soft drinks.
Mexico’s children consume more junk food than anywhere else in Latin America, according to UNICEF, which classifies the nation’s childhood obesity epidemic as an emergency
In the town of San Cristobal de las Casas, the obsession has spiralled out of control, with some residents guzzling up to two litres of Coca-Cola every single day
Just 7 per cent of households in Chiapas believe their water is safe to drink, according to a 2023 national survey, forcing many to buy bottled water or the fizzy drink, which is just as cheap
A local plant owned by Femsa, a food and drink conglomerate that owns the rights to bottle and sell Coca-Cola in Latin America, is allowed to extract more than 1.3 million litres of water a day as part of a concession with the federal government
But Coca-Cola’s popularity has led to a ‘catastrophic’ obesity crisis in Chiapas
As a result, Coca-Cola has flooded the market and has become embedded in Mexico’s daily life and culture.
But Coca-Cola’s popularity has led to a ‘catastrophic’ obesity crisis in Chiapas, health officials say, with several residents now suffering from Type 2 diabetes.
Mexico’s children consume more junk food than anywhere else in Latin America, according to UNICEF, which classifies the nation’s childhood obesity epidemic as an emergency.
Sugary drinks and highly processed foods account for 40 per cent of the total calories that children consume in a day, the agency reports.
One third of Mexican children are already considered overweight or obese, according to government statistics.
A 2020 study by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development showed Mexico stands to lose the greatest amount of life expectancy – an average of at least four years – due to obesity-related problems.
In coming years, the country could lose over five percent of its GDP to obesity-related problems, including lost work hours and health costs.
Health authorities say about 39 per cent of Mexicans are overweight and 36 per cent are obese.
In the Indigenous town of San Andres, locals consider the fizzy beverage liquid gold
Health authorities say about 39 per cent of Mexicans are overweight and 36 per cent are obese.
Obesity levels in Chiapas are largely linked to the consumption to the high-calorie sugary drink
About 10 per cent of Mexicans have some form of diabetes.
In Coca-Cola-addicted Chiapas, which boasts a population of more than 5,000, people die from diabetes-related illnesses, making it the second leading cause of death after heart disease in the state.
Obesity levels in Chiapas are largely linked to the consumption to the high-calorie sugary drink.
And yet, Coca-Cola continues to flow despite its deadly cost.
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