According to a 2017 report by a coalition of environmental and civil rights groups, Femsa pays 2,600 pesos or $155 for each water permit in Mexico.
The report’s authors call that amount “absolutely ridiculous” when compared with the profits the companies make off the water.
Eduardo Gomez, a professor who wrote a study about Coca-Cola’s political influence in Mexico, credited the favourable deals to “the ease with which industry leaders have access to congressional and bureaucratic institutions”.
He pointed out, for example, that Vicente Fox was head of Coca-Cola Femsa before being elected Mexican president in 2000.
Mexico’s National Water Commission (CONAGUA), which is responsible for granting water concessions, did not respond to requests for comment about criticisms of the permit-granting process, how long the permits last and the extent of its deals with Coca-Cola across the country.
Coca-Cola now has a 70-percent market share of production and sales of soda in Mexico.
The Femsa-led operation runs more than 20,000 convenience stores nationwide, according to Marcos Arana, director of a nonprofit focused on improving healthcare for Indigenous communities in Chiapas. It even provides fridges to small shops that sell its products.
“They’re like narcomenudistas,” said Arana, likening the strategy to Mexican drug cartels who create large networks of small-time dealers. “That’s how Coca-Cola’s business model works. You can’t escape it.”
Femsa did not respond to requests for comment about its business practices in Mexico and in San Cristóbal in particular, including how it would respond to Arana’s allegations and what it is doing to minimise its impact on water shortages.
Daniela Puerta, a spokesperson for Coca-Cola Mexico, declined a request for an interview but said in an email, “We always abide by local laws and regulations.”
“We recognize the water access challenges in San Cristóbal, and, for nearly a decade, we have been working with local communities and NGOs to help improve water access,” she added.
Other factors such as poor infrastructure and rapid urbanisation have also played a role in the water shortages, according to Raúl Rodríguez, president of Mexico’s Water Advisory Council.
“The state and municipal governments must invest more economic resources to ensure the supply of water to the population,” he said.
But despite the concerns about water access, Coca-Cola is proving hard for some people in San Cristóbal to quit.
“I don’t see why we should stop drinking it,” said Manuela Dias, an Indigenous Tzotzil woman whose family of five cultivates corn and vegetables in the hills above San Cristóbal.
“Anyway, there’s nothing else for us.”