Coca-Cola Plant Water Use: Millions Daily Taken

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Coca-Cola FEMSA's water stewardship certification for its San Cristóbal plant faces fierce opposition from locals who call it a "farce" while they struggle for basic access.

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The bottling giant extracts 1.32 million liters daily from deep wells while residents sometimes walk hours to collect potentially contaminated water.

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FEMSA's legal concessions allow nearly 500,000 cubic meters of annual water extraction, yet the company pays just 2,600 pesos ($155) yearly for this privilege.

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Municipal water service provides downtown residents merely three hours of water every other day, while rural areas face even more severe shortages.

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Despite 17 findings requiring correction, the Alliance for Water Stewardship still granted FEMSA its Core-level certification in September 2024.

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Beyond FEMSA's claimed efficiency ratio of 1.46 liters used per beverage liter, studies show the true water footprint reaches approximately 35 liters per bottle.

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For the Tzotzil Indigenous people, water ("ji") represents a sacred entity rather than a commodity, yet only 7% of residents trust their tap water according to research.

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UN Special Rapporteur Léo Heller reported "sufficient evidence of human rights violations in Chiapas water access," urging Mexico to prioritize residents over industry.

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Public resistance has mounted steadily, with over 26,000 residents signing a 2020 petition requesting CONAGUA revoke FEMSA's water permits.

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