Transfusing Mexico's Lifeblood with Coca-Cola
A land with deep ties to nature is culturally infested by the sweet grip of the Coke corporation.
Mexico is just the visible tip of a vast accumulation of cultures and people. Many Mexican rituals involve the symbolic use of sugar. For example, in skulls for Day of the Dead ceremonies. Modern Mexican diets are centered around maize, sugarcane and wheat- all high in carbohydrates. Our bodies did not evolve to contain all that sugar as if it were water. Even if these crops are necessary to sustain people, there is no argument to be made that soft drinks do. Only the opposite. There are towns in Mexico where Coke is far cheaper to buy than water. A public health crisis is made even more troubling when you consider the relationship natives had to the environment, and especially, their views on blood.
To begin, there was a bloody conflict, when the Spanish conquistadors arrived in the 16th century and waged war with the Aztecs. Three hundred years later, the sovereign state of Mexico, declaring independence from Spain, proclaimed its spiritual heritage from the ancient hunter-gatherers. Blood, for the Aztecs, held profound spiritual significance. It was believed to be the life force that sustained the gods and, by extension, the sun and the universe. It took a human sacrifice to ensure the sun would rise. This worldview placed humanity in a direct relationship with the divine, where blood was the conduit between the earthly and the celestial, and the underworld.
The goddess of maize and fertility, Chicomecoatl, was celebrated with blood offerings to ensure bountiful harvests. It was blood sacrifice that gave Huitzilopochtli the ability to fight the darkness. Without blood offerings, he was said to be weak. High sugar levels have made our blood quite literally less vital. We no longer respect the sacred essence of blood. Worse yet, we worship a False God, as seen in Chiapas, where there are churches quite using Coke for decoration and healing.
While diving into Mexican history, it struck me that mythology and folklore might serve as a warning for these modern sugar pandemics. One of these may have been a very direct warning, or at the least, a pretty striking coincidence. The Mexican version of the Boogey man is known as “Coca” in many tongues.
Soft drinks didn’t exist before Coca did, but perhaps, the very warnings about Coca can also be said about Coca-Cola. Below is a children’s song about the cryptic figure.
Duérmete niño, duérmete ya...
Que viene el Coco y te comerá
Sleep child, sleep or else...
Coco will come and eat you
Vai-te Coca. Vai-te Coca
Para cima do telhado
Deixa o menino dormir
Um soninho descansado
Leave Coca. Leave Coca
Go to the top of the roof
Let the child have
A quiet sleep
During the 1300s, sugar was gaining popularity among the rich in Europe. It was often used as decoration, especially in the form of sculpted artwork to display for guests. This was a way to provide attractive food and to show off their status. In such events, the hosts and guests would then work their way through eating these sculptures. This celebration of power was demonstrated by the presence of sugar, a form of worship. Then hundreds of years later, bringing us to today, Coca-Cola is being used at the church altar in similar ways.
The Aztecs were suppressed under the Spanish invasion, but perhaps the term addicted would be more fitting when you consider the introduction of sugarcane into Mexico. It quickly became a staple, both economically and culturally. Vast tracts of land were dedicated to sugarcane fields. The effects can be seen today, requiring intensive water use and contributing to ongoing biodiversity loss. This agricultural transformation underscored the environmental cost of feeding the growing appetite for sugar. What is it about Coke in particular that has made Mexico the biggest consumer of it in the world?
Mexican cuisine and dietary habits have historically included sweet flavors, making sweetened beverages like Coca-Cola particularly appealing. Coke has been present in Mexico since the early 20th century, establishing a deep branding among Mexican consumers. Gradually it became part of the Mexican lifestyle. Its status as the most populous Spanish-speaking country, as well as having a young population and a dynamic economy, made it something of a sweet spot for their marketing campaigns. For much of its history, Mexico had a favorable regulatory environment, but more crucially, perhaps, is how its climate and soil made it perfect for sugarcane cultivation.
Today, Mexican consumers have a strong preference for Coca-Cola made with sugarcane, rather than the high-fructose corn syrup ingredients commonly used in the USA. In 2000, a former Coca-Cola executive, Vincent Fox, became President of Mexico. With a soft and gentle front, he guided the country towards adopting a Coco-Cola centric economy. Coca-Cola remains successful because of the ease with which industry leaders have access to congressional and bureaucratic institutions, while hampering civic mobilization. That brings us to today.
Mexico has one of the highest rates of obesity and diabetes in the world, in line with rate of consumption of sugary beverages. Successful marketing strategies involve targeting children and low-income communities. The introduction of a sugar tax in Mexico aimed to reduce the consumption of sugary drinks and address public health concerns. While it has led to a decrease in sugary beverage purchases, there is still a crisis that has yet to pump the breaks.
In many areas, particularly in rural or less developed regions, Coca-Cola products are more readily available and affordable than clean drinking water. This accessibility, coupled with aggressive marketing strategies, has made Coca-Cola a go-to drink for a large segment of the population. In some towns, the poor are given a fridge, chairs and tables by the corporation. All that’s left for them is to turn their home into another site for selling Coke. For many, the company does offer economic stability, something people need but could contribute towards extremely crippling long-term effects. A sick population is a weak one. Perhaps a reminder of Aztec myth, of how the strength of their blood would help to keep the sun alive, would guide the spiritually inclined in those rural populations towards more healthy and conscious life choices.
This is a country of over 130 million people and home of 12% of the world's biodiversity. Its very blood is poisoned, in not just a medical sense but a spiritual one too. There is a reason to engage in mythology and even superstitious lines of thought. This trend of cultural integration of Coke continues, both through occasional religious ceremonies and perennially available in shops, bars and restaurants, where the average Mexican drinks more than 700 cups of Coke per year. An ever bigger chunk of the population may become entirely disposed in the next few years. After all, the younger population are one of the main consumers, and the older population didn’t have as much time to drink Coke as the new generation does. Right now around 14% of adults there have had severe or fatal conditions due to obesity and diabetic-related issues. That figure will continue to skyrocket as the young adults get older.
There is a crusader — not a person, but a bat — who may be the hero we need right now. This long-nosed, patagial-winged pollinator needs the sweet nectar from the Agave cactus. We in turn harvest the nectar as a substitute for sugarcane. It has less sugar content, fewer calories and carbohydrates inside. Moving forward, is it possible that bats will become the new model of the ideal Mexican sugar industry? After all, there’s a drastic need to find sustainable and healthier plant-based products. As Coke and high-sugar diets lead to a weaker working force, there will also be excessive water consumption due to expansion and, as noted in Chiapas, strange ritualistic practices. Perhaps by building our diets and businesses with a direct connection to nature, we can mimic the relationship of the bat with its environment. Once, we had such harmony, but now we threaten both our land and blood alike, draining it and leaving only poison behind. Last year I explored the bat’s role in pollination for Agave, which is used for both sugar and tequila creation.