Witten/Herdecke University
Faculty of Economics, Management, and Society
“International Political Economy (MP-
EIP-1804) (Marxist and Post-Marxist
Theories)”
submitted by
Karla Alday
Instructor: Prof. Dr. J. Zweynert
Semester: Summer Semester 2023
E-Mail: Karla.AldaySantos@uni-wh.de
Student Number: 2100564
Karla Vianey Alday Santos. 2100564
Introducción.
In the article "Multinational Corporation and their Influence Through Lobbying on
Foreign Policy" (Kim 2019). Kim and Milner expose a series of studies that show the
influence of multinational corporations both in the economy and in international politics. In
this brief text I will study the particular case of The Coca-Cola Company in various public
policies in Mexico.
This paper takes up the characterization made by Kim and Milner who define a MNC
as: “a corporation that owns or controls production of goods or services in at least one country
other than its home country” (Kim 2019, 13). The Coca-Cola Company was founded in 1892
in the United States. Currently, it operates around the world, but it has a special presence in
Mexico. According to Coca-Cola FEMSA's 2004 Annual Report: “Coca-Cola FEMSA, S.A.
de C.V. (BMV: KOFL; NYSE: KOF) is the second largest bottler of products Coca-Cola in
the world, representing approximately 10% of the sales volume of The Coca-Cola Company
in the world… 45.7% of our capital stock is owned by Fomento Económico Mexicano, S.A.
de C.V. (FEMSA), 39.6% of subsidiaries of The Coca-Cola Company and 14.7% of investing
public”.
In the article Multinational Corporations in World Politics, Joseph S. Nye Jr. (1974,
171) maintains that: “multinational corporations can also follow a number of political
strategies in their bargaining with host states: (1) they can appeal to their home governments
for support; (2) they can use their economic power to participate in the local political progress
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Karla Vianey Alday Santos. 2100564
legally or illegally; (3) they can organize external boycotts and restrictions of credit.
Alternatively the corporations can restrict themselves to economic agreements, attempting to
convince host states that the corporation brings in resources from which there is a joint gain”.
The objective of this text is to investigate whether and how The Coca-Cola Company,
as a multinational company, exercises political influence in Mexico. The conclusion reached
is that, indeed, the aforementioned company exerts a strong influence on Mexican politics,
an influence that affects different sectors such as the health sector to certain public policies
for environmental care.
Whether and how The Coca-Cola Company, as a multinational company, exercises
political influence in Mexico.
The relationship between the Mexican government and The Coca-Cola Company
goes beyond the famous case of possible conflict of interest involving former President
Vicente Fox Quesada, who held the presidency of Mexico from 2000 to 2006, after serving
as National Director of Operations, Market Director and even President of the Latin
American Division of The Coca-Cola Company. Beyond the case of former President Ernesto
Zedillo, who in 2000, just after finishing his term, joined the ranks of The Coca-Cola
Company as a director. Beyond the unfortunate statements of former President Enrique Peña
Nieto, who in 2016 publicly stated the following: ““I can tell you that the president of the
republic drinks Coca-Cola every day [applause]; Coca-Cola. Light. I hope that’s good
publicity for your products. Well, I don’t know anymore”. (Martínez 2016). The relationship
between said soft drink company and Mexico is going through constant political pressures
that we will analyze in various areas, starting with the health sector.
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Health sector.
As can be read on the official website of the Mexican government: 70% of Mexicans
are overweight and almost a third suffer from obesity. According to official OECD figures,
reported in the article The heavy burden of obesity (2019): “The repercussions on the
economy are noteworthy: overweight represents 8.9% health spending; and reduces labor
market output in an amount equivalent to 2.4 million full-time workers complete per year.
All of this means that being overweight reduces Mexico's GDP by 5.3% -the greatest impact
recorded among the countries analyzed”.
Linked to the problem of obesity, which in Mexico is in fact an epidemic, there are
other serious health problems such as hypertension and diabetes. Indeed “Mexico ranks first
worldwide in the prevalence of diabetes cases, among the member countries of the
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development” (León 2017).
As can be read in the article "Mexico, first consumer of soft drinks in the world",
from the Gaceta of the National Autonomous University of Mexico: "It has been proven that
seven out of 10 children in rural communities eat soft drinks for breakfast; between 1999 and
2006 the consumption of sugary drinks among Mexican adults tripled, and precisely this
sector of the population that consumes them occasionally is 15 percent more likely to suffer
from obesity" (Delgado 2019). International organizations such as UNICEF, WHO and Save
the Childrens have warned about the dangers of excessive sugar consumption in children,
insisting on the dishonorable first place in childhood obesity worldwide that the Republic of
Mexico holds.
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But, if this is the scenario in Mexico in terms of health, the obligatory question is:
what have the designers of public policies done in this regard? In 2019, researcher Eduardo
J. Gómez had already raised this question and sought to address it in the article Coca-Cola's
political and policy influence in Mexico: understanding the role of institutions, interests and
divided society, writing that: “one of the reasons why the industrial epidemics of obesity and
type-2 diabetes burgeoned in Mexico has to do with Coca-Cola’s ongoing ability to
negatively influence politicians’ decisions not to prioritize NCD policies, taking on several
political strategies to prohibit ‘policy windows’ (Kingdon, 1984) from opening and leading
to more aggressive NCD policies” (Gómez 2019). According to Gómez's qualitative
research, The Coca-Cola Company has lobbied the legislature not to increase taxes on sugary
products or to impose restrictions on the advertising of such products. But, to review the most
recent actions of the aforementioned company in terms of the legal and political sphere in
Mexico, let's see the case of warning labeling on edible products.
Due to the excessive consumption of processed foods and beverages and their
relationship with overweight, obesity, and other diseases, in 2020, the Mexican government
has implemented a strategy aimed at warning consumers of the high sugar, carbohydrate, or
sodium content in prepackaged food that are displayed in shops and markets. Based on the
provisions of NOM-051-SCFI/SSA1-2010, on the front of prepackaged foods, black
octagons must appear with the legends "Excess sugar", "Excess sodium", " Excess of
saturated fats", as appropriate to the contents of a certain product. International organizations
such as UNICEF and WHO have applauded this initiative as well as its recent results.
However, a number of companies in the processed food industry have filed injunctions
against the aforementioned standard, the main one, precisely Coca-Cola. The person in
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charge of reviewing the amparo is Yasmín Esquivel Mossa (recently involved in a plagiarism
scandal), who in 2017 dealt with a similar matter in which she agreed with Coca-Cola.
The most recent precedent is precisely that in 2017 the Supreme Court of Justice of
the Nation granted a Coca-Cola subsidiary an amparo to continue selling its products in
Higher Secondary Education schools, despite warnings from various associations such as El
Poder del Consumidor. This amparo set a precedent so that other companies could exert
similar pressures and it will be necessary to see if it also affects the current appeal presented
by Coca-Cola, still under resolution.
FEMSA Coca Cola's argument is that the labeling could affect its sales, which
reminds us of the words of Kim and Milner (2019, 7): “MNCs can leverage their bargaining
power by offering both ‘inducements’ or promises of new investment and ‘deprivations’”.
The Environment
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Bibliography
https://elpoderdelconsumidor.org/2022/09/protestamos-contra-coca-cola-para-exigir-quedeje-de-vender-productos-contaminantes-y-daninos-para-la-salud-y-denuncian-su-cabildeopara-seguir-contaminando/
https://blog.coalicioncontrapeso.org/ilsi-el-cabildeo-de-coca-cola-disfrazado-deinvestigacion/
https://coca-colafemsa.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/kof_ra_20041231_esp.pdf
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Multinational Corporations in World Politics
Joseph S. Nye Jr.
Foreign Affairs, Vol. 53, No. 1 (Oct., 1974), pp. 153-175 (23 pages)
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•
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apoyo
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Eduardo J Gómez, Coca-Cola’s political and policy influence in Mexico: understanding
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