This Friday, the President of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaumdefended the increase in the special tax on soft drinks (IEPS) and other high-sugar products by ensuring that the measure is not for revenue purposes, but for public health, given the high rates of obesity and diabetes in the country.
“This is accompanied by an information campaign by the Government of Mexico of the Ministry of Health (…) of the effect that excessive consumption of sugary drinks and junk food can have. Then, a campaign comes. “The objective is not to raise money, but to consume less,” stated the President during “La Mañanera del pueblo.”
Sheinbaum maintained that childhood overweight has increased based on recent measurements from the federal program “Live Healthy, Live Happy”, applied to primary school girls and boys.
“I have said it here, the level of diabetes, hypertension, obesity of girls and boys in Mexico (…) there has been seen to have increased. The problem of obesity and diabetes. And it is associated in many studies essentially with the excessive consumption of what we call junk food and sugary drinks,” he stressed.
The President explained that the increase in the tax – included in the 2026 fiscal package – seeks to modify consumption patterns.
“What objective does it have? Well, if you spent 100 pesos to buy sugary drinks in a month, then you continue to spend those 100 pesos just to buy less soft drinks. That is the objective, to consume less.”
He also highlighted that the Government of Mexico expects the industry to also reduce the sugar content in its products.
“If, in addition to that, we can get the soft drinks companies to say, ‘Well, we are going to lower the production formula of Coca-Cola or other soft drinks or other sugary drinks by 30%,’ it is doubly good, because in addition to consuming less, you will consume less sugar per drink from a certain date on,” he said.
Sheinbaum insisted that the measure is aimed at “the health of Mexicans,” since the effects of a diabetic person in the medium term “are very serious.”
Sheinbaum’s statements occur after yesterday Thursday his government announced an agreement with the sugary drinks industry that includes a 30% reduction in the sugar content in soft drinks, restrictions on advertising aimed at minors and a price differentiation between sugary and calorie-free drinks, in exchange for moderating the originally proposed increase in the special tax (IEPS).
In that sense, Eduardo Clark, Undersecretary of Integration and Development of the Health Sector, explained that the agreement was to maintain the IEPS at 3.08 pesos per liter for sugary drinks, but calorie-free versions will pay 1.50 pesos.
Clark stressed that the pact was not made “in secret” and that it will be verifiable.
“If we continue to see advertising with minors, they are clearly not complying, and the Government has tools for stronger measures,” he warned.
Mexico is one of the largest consumers of soft drinks in the world, with an average of 166 liters per person per year, according to official data.
The consumption of sugary drinks is linked to the high prevalence of obesity and type 2 diabetes, the main causes of death in the country.
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