Coca-Cola’s Santa Caravan Defies Mexico Health Law

Mexico — Beginning next week, caravans sponsored by Coca-Cola will parade through the streets of several cities across the country. Polar bears, Santa Claus, reindeer, and balloons, mounted on floats, will promote the famous soft drink brand before all eyes, especially those of children, an action that is prohibited by law.

In a country that recorded 192,563 deaths from cardiovascular diseases and 112,641 from diabetes in 2024, and where the consumption of soft drinks reduces the population's life expectancy by 10 years, the regulations of the General Health Law on Advertising stipulate that no sugary drink or junk food can use child-friendly characters, such as Santa Claus, for advertising.

"There is no character with a greater emotional connection to children than Santa Claus," denounces Alejandro Calvillo, director of the organization El Poder del Consumidor (The Power of the Consumer). "The caravans constitute a very conscious abuse of the vulnerability of boys and girls to advertising; it is a violation of their rights, which are protected by law," adds the activist in an interview with Proceso.

Calvillo laments that his complaints to the Federal Commission for the Protection against Sanitary Risks (Cofepris) and the Federal Consumer Attorney's Office (Profeco) have gone unanswered, despite the fact that "for more than 20 years, recommendations from UNICEF and the World Health Organization (WHO) have existed to prohibit advertising that uses elements attractive to children."

"The problem is not the caravan itself, it is the association with the product, and the strongest advertising is that which you do not recognize as advertising," insists the activist, who has been one of the main promoters of the tax on sugary drinks and junk food, as well as clear labeling that warns about the excesses of calories, fats, trans fats, salt, and sugars in processed products.

Last year, El Poder del Consumidor counted 17 caravans in the country, some with a strong deployment of resources, such as in Monterrey where drones were flown representing a Santa Claus drinking a Coca-Cola. For this year, the municipal presidencies of Acapulco and Mexicali—both controlled by Morena—have already announced that caravans will be organized, and more will likely be added in the coming weeks.

Alejandro Calvillo recalls that, since the 1930s, Coca-Cola appropriated Santa Claus and a part of the imagery related to Christmas, and never let it go. Until 2016, the world's largest soft drink company was still installing a 40-meter-high pine tree, with its logo at the top and on giant ornaments, in Mexico City's main square, the Zócalo.

The activist also emphasizes that, last year, the capital city government of Clara Brugada Molina had authorized the parade of a Coca-Cola caravan along Reforma Avenue but had to backtrack due to public dissatisfaction. The event ultimately took place on the streets of Iztapalapa, the political stronghold of the head of government.