Tax Reform Takes Bread from Mouths of Mexico's Poor Susana Gonzalez G. - La Jornada
go to original July 2, 2014

The 15 percent drop recorded in this year’s sale of pan dulce [sweet breads or rolls], as a consequence of the tax reform, has resulted practically in “taking bread from the mouths” of those with the lowest income, warned Jonás Murillo González, director of the National Chamber of the Bread Industry (CANAINPA, in its Spanish initials).

MV Note: Pan dulce, sweet breads, are rolls in a wide variety of forms and flavors, which are a staple of Mexican breakfast. The tax, part of the tax reform passed earlier this year, is on foods and drinks with a high sugar content. It's intent was to reduce consumption of soft drinks and "junk food" with added sugar, as diabetes and obesity are major health problems in Mexico.

According to the organization, the average price of a bag of bread varies between 15 and 20 pesos [US $1.15 and $1.54], but the population in the bottom five deciles spends half of their income on food, and of that number, 25 percent is for bread and tortillas. Additionally, 75 percent of bakeries are located in economically depressed areas “where the population lives on less than five minimum wages,” [US$25 per day] the director said.

The special tax on production and services (IEPS, in its Spanish initials) approved in the tax reform has meant an added charge of 8 percent on the total value of sweet bread, which has affected its consumption in a severe way.

Read the rest at Mexico Voices

Translated by Penn Tomassetti

Photo: María Meléndrez Parada

Mexico Voices is a blogging endeavor aimed at raising the awareness of U.S. citizens regarding the destructive impact of the U.S. economic policy and the War on Drugs on Mexico — on its people, their economic and physical security and their human rights, on the nation’s dysfunctional justice system, and on the rule of law and Mexico’s fragile democracy. Visit the website at MexicoVoices.blogspot.mx.

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