According to data from 2017 report by a coalition of environmental and civil rights groups, Femsa pays 2,600 pesos, or $155, for each water permit in Mexico.
The report’s authors call that amount “absolutely ridiculous” compared to the profits companies make outside the water.
Eduardo Gomez, a professor who wrote a study on Coca-Cola’s political influence in Mexico, attributed the favorable contracts to “the ease with which industry leaders have access to congressional and bureaucratic institutions.”
He pointed out, for example, that Vicente Fox was the head of Coca-Cola Femsa before he was elected president of Mexico in 2000.
Mexico’s National Water Commission (CONAGUA), which is responsible for awarding water concessions, did not respond to requests for comment on criticisms of the permitting process, how long permits last and the extent of its dealings with Coca-Cola across the country.
Coca-Cola now has 70 percent market share of soda production and sales in Mexico.
The operation led by Femsa lasts more than 20,000 stores across the country, according to Marcos Arana, director of a non-profit organization focused on improving health care for indigenous communities in Chiapas. He even provides refrigerators to small shops that sell his products.
“They’re like drug dealers,” Arana said, comparing the strategy to Mexican drug cartels that create large networks of small-time dealers. “That’s how Coca-Cola’s business model works. You can’t get away from it.”
Femsa did not respond to requests for comment about its business practices in Mexico, and specifically in San Cristóbal, including how it would respond to Arana’s allegations and what it is doing to reduce its impact on water shortages.
Daniela Puerta, a spokeswoman for Coca-Cola Mexico, declined an interview request but said in an email, “We always comply with local laws and regulations.”
“We recognize the challenges with access to water in San Cristóbal and have been working with local communities and NGOs to improve access to water for almost a decade,” she added.
Other factors such as poor infrastructure and rapid urbanization also played a role in the water shortage, according to Raúl Rodríguez, president of Mexico’s Water Advisory Council.
“The state and municipal government must invest more economic resources to ensure the population’s water supply,” he said.
But despite concerns about access to water, some people in San Cristóbal are finding it hard to give up Coca-Cola.
“I don’t see why we should stop drinking it,” said Manuela Dias, an indigenous Tzotzil woman whose family of five grows corn and vegetables in the hills above San Cristóbal.
“In any case, we have nothing else to do.”
