SAN CRISTOBAL DE LAS CASAS (Mexico) — Ms Maria del Carmen Abadia lives in one of Mexico’s rainiest regions, but she has running water only once every two days.
Potable water is increasingly scarce in San Cristobal de las Casas, a picturesque mountain town in the south-eastern state of Chiapas where some neighborhoods have running water just a few times a week, and many households are forced to buy extra water from tanker trucks.
So, many residents drink Coca-Cola, which is produced by a local bottling plant, can be easier to find than bottled water and is almost as cheap.
"Soft drinks have always been more available than water," said Ms Abadia, 35, a security guard who, like her parents, has struggled with obesity and diabetes.
"Now, you see the kids drinking Coke and not water.
"It doesn’t rain like it used to," said Mr Jesus Carmona, a biochemist at the local Ecosur scientific research centre, which is affiliated with the Mexican government.
"Almost every day, day and night, it used to rain."
Femsa is one of Mexico’s most powerful companies; a former chief executive of Coca-Cola in Mexico, Mr Vicente Fox, was the country’s president from 2000 to 2006.
"Coca-Cola pays this money to the federal government, not the local government," Mebert said, "while the infrastructure that serves the residents of San Cristóbal is literally crumbling."
In San Juan Chamula, bottled soda anchors religious ceremonies cherished by the city’s indigenous Tzotzil population.