Supplying such products is also prohibited, but parents are exempt
by Mexico News Daily
The Congress of Oaxaca passed a law on Wednesday that bans the sale of junk food and sugary drinks to minors.
Thirty-one lawmakers voted in favor of the so-called ley antichatarra, or anti-junk food law, while just one voted against it.
Oaxaca becomes the first state in the country to prohibit the sale of items such as chips, candy, soda and other sugary drinks to children under 18.
The enactment of the law comes as health authorities blame Mexico’s high coronavirus death toll on the high prevalence of diet-related diseases such as diabetes and obesity. Deputy Health Ministry Hugo López-Gatell last month described soft drinks as “bottled poison.”
Magaly López Domínguez, a Morena party deputy who presented the legislation, said obesity has reached “epidemic proportions” in Mexico and that Oaxaca has the highest rates of childhood obesity among the country’s 32 states.
“About 28 of every 100 boys and girls aged between 5 and 11 suffer from obesity or are overweight, according to Oaxaca health services,” she said.
A study by the National Institute of Public Health (INSP) and Tufts University found that the high rates of consumption of soft drinks and other drinks with a high sugar content contributes to the death of more than 40,000 people a year.
“We could prevent a large number of deaths by reducing the consumption of sugary drinks,” said Tonatiuh Barrientos, an assistant director at INSP and one of the authors of the report.
The researchers involved in the study proposed increasing the IEPS excise tax on sugary drinks by up to 40 percent.
Oaxaca’s new law, which was backed by the United Nations Children’s Fund and scores of other international organizations, also prohibits the supply of such products to minors.
However, parents are exempt from the restriction, meaning that they will still be able to give high-calorie treats to their children.
The Oaxaca Health Ministry will have to determine exactly which products children will be prohibited from buying. Those that exceed recommended limits for sugar, saturated fat, trans fat and salt are set to be off limits.
Before legislators voted on the law, a group of grocery store owners and business group members protested outside the Congress building and said they would take legal action if it passed.
López, the law’s sponsor, said the ban “in no way seeks to punish business owners” and any suggestion that it does was a lie.
She said it was regrettable that the business sector has tried to make people believe that prohibiting the sale of unhealthy foods to children would cause an “economic catastrophe” for Oaxaca.
López pointed out that shops will still be able to sell junk food and soft drinks to adults, likening the ban to that on the sale of cigarettes and alcohol to minors.
“We have to put a stop to the privileges of the few to prioritize children’s health. There is no place for economic interests above health,” she said.
Source: La Silla Rota (sp), El Universal (sp), Milenio (sp)
Catholic cardinal accuses AMLO of leading Mexico into communism
But president says defending the poor is gospel, not communist
Mexico is not turning communist, it’s following the gospel, according to President López Obrador.
Mexican Cardinal Juan Sandoval Íñiguez declared this week that the president is leading Mexico into communism, to which the president responded by asking the religious leader to recall the words of Pope Francis: “Defending the poor is not being a communist. It is the center of the gospel.”
According to an essay written by the 87-year-old Sandoval and published on the archdiocese of Guadalajara’s website, the “atheist” Mexican government has begun to take its people down a slippery slope to communism.
The essay, called The Communism that is Coming to Mexico, identified several indications to back up its argument — taking control of the nation’s assets and the economy, assuming a dictatorial role, and promoting gender ideology over the family, among others — as examples of the country’s descent.
In response, López Obrador argued that accusations such as those by the cardinal are due to the changes that his administration has made and is making in favor of a more just society.
“I understand that some have their interests affected, but we could not continue as we were, the government could not continue to be kidnapped in the service of a minority and turn its back on the people,” he said in response. “You cannot put new wine in old bottles.”
Cardinal Sandoval, who once described abortion as a crime committed with the same barbarity as a narco execution, presided over a 2015 exorcism intended to banish violence from Mexico.
Source: ADN Político (sp), Excélsior (sp)
Advocates: Many CA Families Face Ruin; Senate Urged to Act
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California families of color are bearing the brunt of the pandemic while also working many of the jobs essential to the economy, so advocates are urging the U.S. Senate to make sure their basic needs are met.
The House passed the $3 trillion HEROES Act in May, but the Senate has yet to act on the legislation. Gabriella Barbosa, policy director at The Children’s Partnership, said without help, many families face irreparable harm to their health and well-being.
“So we really want Congress to include supports around food, housing, access to health care and income supports in the next iteration of federal legislation around the pandemic,” Barbosa said.
Advocates want legislators to approve $1,200 a month in cash relief to families, including immigrants and mixed-status families. They’re also calling for $100 billion in emergency rental assistance and a 14 percent increase in the amount the feds pay states in Medicaid matching funds.
Deborah Weinstein is executive director of the nonprofit Coalition on Human Needs. She said Congress needs to take bold action before federal unemployment benefits and the eviction moratorium run out.
“We have not experienced anything like this for 100 years. We’ve got a stubborn disease that is keeping our economy from functioning the way it should,” Weinstein said. “We cannot let our families suffer in this way. The consequences to children are so grave.”
Weinstein also is calling for $1 trillion in aid to state and local governments in order to stave off huge cuts in Medi-Cal, education and social services. Senate Republicans are in favor of a relief bill that would provide direct stimulus payments to Americans and relief for businesses. (by Suzanne Potter).
