Mexico, which now has higher obesity rates than the United States, has proposed an 8-cent (1 peso) per liter tax on soft drinks to help fund weight-control efforts in the country. Soft-drink bottlers, retailers and sugar growers have purchased ads opposing the tax, with some ads bringing New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg into the fight. Cuauhtemoc Rivera, leader of Mexico's National Association of Small Stores, said:
"Bloomberg ... has the right to be crazy, but he doesn't have the right to come here and impose his craziness on us."