After a deal with Coca-Cola, Mexico agrees to lower taxes on soft drinks.

The Mexican Congress approved a reduction in the tax on sugary drinks early Friday morning after reaching an agreement with the industry in which Coca-Cola pledged to reduce the calories in its flagship soft drink by 30% and make adjustments to its advertising to prioritize low-sugar products and ensure that children are not featured in its ads.
As Claudia Sheinbaum explained during her morning press conference, the goal of the tax is not to raise revenue, but rather to "reduce soft drink consumption and prevent further diabetes, hypertension, and obesity among the population."
The President celebrated the substantial reduction in sugar in soft drinks and the fact that sugar-free products are cheaper than other products, but she assured authorities that these commitments will be monitored to ensure they are met.
Read: Soft drink sales in Mexico have decreased in one year: INEGIMexico is one of the countries in Latin America that consumes the most junk food and soft drinks and one of the countries with the highest rates of childhood obesity in the world , so the government has been trying to limit consumption of these products through various means for some time.
This year the government had proposed doubling the tax on sugary drinks—up to 17 cents per liter—and also including sugar-free soft drinks, But after the agreement, the ruling party deputies agreed to reduce the tax to just 8 cents per liter.
The soft drink industry, through the Mexican Beverage Association, had called the first proposal excessive . In a September statement, it said it would limit Mexico's economic growth and make the "basic basket" of food more expensive for Mexicans. It offered to open a dialogue that culminated in Thursday's agreement, prior to the parliamentary vote, in which each company would outline its specific proposals.
Watch: Mexico defends soda tax to "consume less" for health reasonsThe Coca-Cola company has committed to reducing the number of calories per liter of its beverage by 30% "in stages, starting with the largest presentations." with the goal that "in a maximum of one year, 70% of the volume we sell in the country will already be in that situation."
He also said they would make changes to advertising to exclude children and adolescents from commercials and to promote lower-calorie products, as well as work to adjust prices for the latter.
These taxes still need to be approved by the Senate as part of the 2026 budget. The ruling party holds a majority in both chambers, so no changes are expected.
*Stay up to date with the news, join our WhatsApp channel .
AO
informador