La Alianza por la Salud Alimentaria (The Alliance for Healthy Food) reports that various non-governmental organizations, including those that support the right to water, have demanded a tax on soft drinks and for that money to be allocated to the introduction of drinking water fountains in schools and in public spaces across Mexico.
Their article notes, “Claudia Campero, who is with the Coalition of Organizations for the Right to Water (COMDA), said the Constitution provides that: ‘Everyone has the right to access to water and sanitation provision for personal and household consumption as sufficient, safe, acceptable and affordable.’ The lack of access to drinking water is often replaced by soda or sugary drinks. ‘The State shall guarantee the right to drinking water for people to stay healthy,’ she said.”
Also, “According to Flores Yuritzin Puig, Campaigns Manager for Oxfam Mexico, the tax would help decrease consumption of bottled water in Mexico, which has the highest per capita consumption rate in the world, as well as save money for households and reduce environmental impacts.”
The Alliance is committed to working for recognition of the rights of children and food, water and health, through the development and implementation of a comprehensive policy urgently to combat the obesity epidemic and malnutrition in Mexico. The Coalición de Organizaciones Mexicanas por el Derecho al Agua, the Blue Planet Project, and Food & Water Watch are member groups of the Alliance.
You can read more at http://alianzasalud.org.mx/2012/12/ongs-demandan-impuesto-al-refresco-para-bebederos-en-las-escuelas-y-comunidades-mas-pobres-del-pais/.
