AIBU absolutely disgusted, but not surprised!

[LovingLifesHurdles]

There's a drought in Mexico. There are thousands of people who haven't had water through their taps for months. People are getting sick because they can afford to buy bottled water, and are instead drinking water provided by the state in small vans for washing/ toilets etc.

And in the background to all this Coke & Heineken are still using public water reserves to produce drinks! How much they use seems to be disputed, but any at all is disgusting in my book.

www.theguardian.com/global-development/2022/jul/28/water-is-the-real-thing-but-millions-of-mexicans-are-struggling-without-it

So I understand that these things are complex for local governments ( perhaps having those companies there is what funds the public system as a whole, employs a large number of people etc) but I think the companies could do so much better.

Personally I think I will be leaving the fizzy drinks on the shelf for the foreseeable.

Presumably, if Coke and Heineken stopped producing, they’d stop paying wages.

Coke is cheaper than bottled water to buy in Mexico

Coke has a long history in Mexico, it is a very large company there.
It has used very dubious tactics in the past to become very embedded in the culture.
Water is very expensive to buy so people often buy coke instead of water even for small children.
That said much of the water sold in Mexico is sold by Coke.

This and unless you live in a region where Coke produced in Mexico is sold, your short sighted, virtue signalling boycott would achieve sweet FA anyhow.

And in the background to all this Coke & Heineken are still using public water reserves to produce drinks! How much they use seems to be disputed, but any at all is disgusting in my book.

Would it be less disgusting if they stopped using the water, which would mean stopping production which would mean sacking all the staff who couldn't then buy food or electricity never mind water? It's difficult, but you can't have it both ways I'm afraid. Water for the people or wages for the people? Water can be trucked in... so maybe the lesser of two evils in an impossible situation?

If water can be trucked in, why is it the local population that has to do it rather than the massive multinationals? Just shows who runs the world and unsurprisingly it's not the governments.

When did everyone become so happy with the fact that we are serving the businesses, rather than the businesses serving the people?

So making a decision not to buy a product on principle is now virtue signalling? It doesn't even make sense. Why would it matter if you were not buying mexican coke or british coke, it all effects the company's bottom line (in a tiny way).

And how on earth is it short sighted? What in your mind are the negative consequences of someone not buying Coke?

I do understand what you are saying and where you are coming from and clearly something needs doing, but businesses are after all there for profit, it is up to the government to sort out clean water for their population. If the businesses ship in water, the amount it costs would be prohibitive to continued production. So full circle to giving up production and the workers having no jobs... It is cheaper in the long run for the government to supply water than jobs / money. The government is at fault for not supplying ample clean water for their people, that is not the businesses problem. It would appear Heineken has offered 20% of their water (presumably from their privately dug and funded well) and Coca Cola has offered free water. It is not their fault if their production plant is too far away for many of the people. They didn't HAVE to offer anything.

Questions should be asked why the government isn't supplying decent clean water, not why a business isn't giving up their supply, anger is misplaced.

Ok so you want to add unemployment to their woes and shut down their employers?

aye they will thank you for that.

Redundancies and starvation / homelessness for the workers.But you know, you do get to berate others on here for being less virtuous than you while leaving those Mexican children going hungry, so it’s not all negative.

yup. Well said.

The state in Mexico had several publicized goals while I was there.
One of which was to be the first State to have zero percent of the population in housing with dirt floors.
It was likely to be able to achieve the first state status because it was a small and wealthy state. Even so it was some way off.

Water is expensive in Mexico. You had to buy drinking water separately to water for other uses in my state at least.

Supplying UK style drinking water wasn't seen as a government issue, it was something to be bought by individuals like petrol.
There are lots of ways of doing this, much of this organization is also owned by Coke.

Mexico is a failed state.

This is the problem here.

A sturdy state would be looking after basic needs of the citizens.

Instead, tourist resorts have swimming pools and showers on demand, clean water for cooking g and drinking, and no problems sourcing water.

Coke and Heineken and other beverage producers have access to water. They either own the natural resources or they can afford to pay for it. Either way, it's not available for public use.

In the background, drug cartels have been broken up and small gangs fight for territory. The police and public officials have been paid off or frightened off. Human trafficking continues unabated. Gangs make a fortune out of the human misery they cause. Murder, rape, and theft go uninvestigated

Being poor in Mexico is the definition of hell.

However, making the lives of the poor even worse by closing down the industries that employ them would be a strange step to take.

Maybe when hurrahing about what should be done, try to remember that failed states generally don't offer much by way of welfare, unemployment benefits, or access to food for families who have lost their livelihood?

Okay I should have proof read first. The state in Mexico where I lived was aiming to be the first to have no dirt floors, even as as a small rich state it is a way off that.
Mexico is a poor country and there is very little state support in most areas.

Water tends not to be piped in Mexico. This is why it has to be trucked in.

The lack of physical infrastructure is thanks to government incompetence, corruption, and lack of motivation.