Mexico’s Coca Cola Judge

ByAlejandro Calvillo

This article by Alejandro Calvillo originally appeared in the February 16, 2026 edition of PopLAB.

A recently elected judge has sought to grant an injunction to the Coca-Cola company to overturn part of the regulation that prevents the sale of its products in middle and high schools.

We know very well that the strategies of global junk food and soft drink corporations to prevent any regulation that affects the great control they have established over the habits of the Mexican population are very diverse, and one of them, very frequently used, is to flood the Judicial Branch with injunctions and legal actions to try to prevent them.

These large corporations, led by Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, Nestlé, Kellogg’s, and others, have filed hundreds of injunctions against taxes, labeling requirements, and now against regulations on the sale of their products in schools. Coca-Cola has been the most active, having made our population the world’s largest consumer of its products and, consequently, also one of the populations with the highest rates of diabetes, among other diseases caused by the consumption of its beverages.

A major step forward has been the regulation of the sale of these products throughout the education system. Progress has already been made, primarily in basic education, but implementation and monitoring are still needed in secondary and higher education, as the regulation primarily affects the entire education system.

What Coca-Cola is trying to achieve through this legal challenge is to seriously undermine the population’s right to health and food. The judge did not consider any arguments regarding the right to food or health.

The scale of the problem compels us to protect educational environments at all levels, given that we have one of the highest rates of overweight, obesity, and diabetes in the world. Fifteen million Mexican adults have diabetes; that is, one in six adults in our country suffers from diabetes, and it is estimated that one in two Mexican children will develop diabetes during their lifetime.

It is not surprising that corporations seek protection against these regulations; what is surprising is that judges rule in their favor—judges who have recently come to their positions through a popular vote, which should supposedly be an expression of their intention to protect the public interest and the common good.

Let’s look at the Magistrate’s case:

In the Fifth Collegiate Court of Mexicali, Baja California, Judge Miguel Ávalos Cornejo sought to grant an injunction to Coca-Cola and one of its bottlers, allowing them to continue selling their product in high schools and universities. This would exempt the company from complying with regulations that took the country many years to achieve, precisely because of pressure from Coca-Cola and other companies. Judge Ávalos Cornejo attempted to prioritize Coca-Cola’s commercial interests over the public’s right to health and food.

The injunction was voted on on February 12, 2026, and, fortunately, it was rejected by magistrates Lorenia Molina Zavala and Priscilla Velásquez Plascencia, referring the case to the Supreme Court; we’ll see what happens there.

The draft ruling by Judge Miguel Ávalos Cornejo, who was elected in the recent judicial elections, sought, as we explained, to allow the company to continue selling its products in middle and high schools.

His argument in the draft was based on an alleged violation of the company’s right to work, completely disregarding the protection of the population’s right to health and food. The judge could have been a good candidate for Donald Trump in the United States to defend his corporate allies, prioritizing the right to work over the right to health.

Junk food companies reap enormous profits in Mexico; a large portion of these profits leave the country, going to their shareholders, leaving us with nothing but health damage—not only illness, but also tens of thousands of deaths.

What Coca-Cola is trying to achieve through this legal challenge is to seriously undermine the population’s right to health and food. The judge did not consider any arguments regarding the right to food or health.

In Mexico, an average of 163 liters of soda are consumed per person per year, one of the highest consumption rates in the world. Scientific studies reveal that the consumption of these products is responsible for 40,000 deaths in Mexico. Currently, one in three new cases of diabetes are associated with sugary drinks, and one in seven is related to cardiovascular disease.

Data from a study conducted in 184 countries estimated that sugary drink consumption in Mexico is causing 230,000 new cases of diabetes and cardiovascular disease each year. For this reason, a regulation was adopted in 2024 prohibiting the sale of junk food in all schools within the National Education System. In response, the food industry filed injunctions against the regulation, seeking to maintain its economic advantages at the expense of the health of the student population.

No healthcare system can cope with the damage caused by the consumption of these products. As we have pointed out, these companies reap enormous profits in our country; a large portion of these profits leave the country, going to their shareholders, leaving us with nothing but health damage—not only illness, but also tens of thousands of deaths, as these products are a leading cause of diabetes and cardiovascular diseases, which are currently the leading cause of illness and death in Mexico.

Alejandro Calvillo is director of El Poder del Consumidor, a non-profit civil association that works to defend the rights of the Mexican consumer, as well as a sociologist with degrees in philosophy from the University of Barcelona and environment and sustainable development from El Colegio de México