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NGOs Demand New Alcohol Policy in Mexico After Five Deaths During World Cup Festivities
🇵🇾 Paraguay /Sports

NGOs Demand New Alcohol Policy in Mexico After Five Deaths During World Cup Festivities

From ABC Color · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Outcome reported
  • Civil organizations in Mexico City are demanding a new national alcohol policy following five deaths during World Cup celebrations.
  • The groups argue that the normalization of alcohol consumption contributes to societal harm and loss of life.
  • They are calling for regulation to protect public health, not a total prohibition, and criticize existing measures as insufficient.

Following five reported deaths during celebrations for the national football team's victory over Ecuador in the 2026 World Cup, civil organizations in Mexico City are urging authorities to implement a new national policy on alcohol. The groups gathered to demand action, arguing that the current approach allows the alcohol industry to normalize a product that damages health and causes significant societal harm.

Representatives from Salud Justa, the Red de Acción Sobre Alcohol (RASA), and Voces Jóvenes por el Derecho a la Salud are united in their call for a regulatory framework that prioritizes public health. They emphasize that their goal is not to prohibit alcohol entirely but to establish regulations that protect citizens' well-being and prevent the normalization of a product that leads to fatalities.

We cannot continue to allow the alcohol industry to normalize the consumption of a product that harms health and causes structural damage to society.

— Yahaira Ochoa OrtizRepresentative of the Salud Justa association, speaking at a gathering of civil organizations.

RASA criticized the measures implemented by the Mexico City government, such as dry laws restricting alcohol sales, as insufficient. The organization pointed out that host cities have had eight years to prepare for the World Cup and ensure public safety during celebrations. Alonso Robledo, a spokesperson for RASA, stated, "We have normalized the idea that being a fan implies drinking," linking alcohol consumption to domestic and gender-based violence.

The Mexico City government recently updated the official death toll from celebrations since the World Cup began to five, an increase from the previously reported four. The Secretary of Health for the capital provided an update on the health operation, which included 3,563 medical attentions and 93 emergency transfers. The calls from civil organizations intensified after Mexico's defeat to England on Sunday, which marked the final security operation for containing celebrations of the national team's victories.

We have normalized the idea that being a fan implies drinking.

— Alonso RobledoSpokesperson for RASA, linking alcohol consumption to violence.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by ABC Color in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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