经济学人285:墨西哥软饮料 嘶嘶愤怒

　　Business
商业报道
Soft drinks in Mexico
墨西哥软饮料
Fizzing with rage
嘶嘶愤怒
A once-omnipotent industry fights what may be a losing battle
一个曾经无所不能的行业的一场必败之仗
LA MANSION¹ steakhouse inside Mexico's lower house of Congress has become the headquarters of a lobbying effort the likes of which congressmen say they have never seen before.
墨西哥国会下议院LA大厦内的牛排餐厅已成为游说广场，国会议员们说他们以前从未见过。
There is so much wining and dining that one lawmaker, proposing a bill on October 15th to regulate the lobbyists, claimed he was talking to a half-empty floor because his colleagues were too busy being schmoozed at La Mansion.
这里有这么多的美酒和美食，一个国会议员于10月15日提出了一项法案以规范游说，因为他的同事们忙于在La大厦闲聊，他抱怨说自己在对地板说话。
2_副本.jpgThe lobbyists work mainly for soft-drinks companies such as Coca-Cola, PepsiCo and their respective Mexican bottlers Femsa and Cultiba.
这些游说者主要为软饮料公司，如可口可乐、百事公司和他们在墨西哥的饮料瓶公司Femsa和Cultiba工作。
Their focus is a proposal currently under debate in Congress to slap an excise² tax of one peso on to the price of a litre of fizzy drinks.
他们关注的焦点是一个建议，目前国会正在辩论的一升碳酸饮料征收一比索的消费税。
Though the industry has faced down consumer activists³ in the past in Coca-Cola's biggest market by volume outside the United States, this initiative comes directly from President Enrique Pea Nieto.
虽然行业之前说服了消费者活动家，这里是可口可乐在美国以外最大的销售市场，这一举措直接来自总统恩里克·佩尼亚·涅托。
The lobbyists may have blundered in their attempt to kill it.
游说者在试图扼杀此税的努力中做错了。
The government's argument is simple.
政府的理由很简单。
Mexicans consume too many fizzy drinks.
墨西哥人消耗太多的碳酸饮料。
The habit has helped make the country one of the most obese⁴ in the world, and obesity⁵ is a killer⁶:
这个习惯使墨西哥成为世界上最肥胖的国家之一，而肥胖是一个杀手：
Mexico's mortality rates from diabetes⁷ are staggeringly high. The government proposed the sin tax to discourage soft-drinks consumption.
墨西哥的糖尿病死亡率高得惊人。政府提出了罪恶税以阻止软饮料消费。
The industry's reaction has been apoplectic⁸.
业界的反应是愤怒。
In full-page ads in national newspapers it has argued that the tax is regressive and satanises soft drinks, which it claims do not cause obesity.
在全国性报纸的整版广告认为这项税收是退步的和丑化不会引起肥胖软饮料。
With a hint of xenophobia, the lobbyists call it the Bloomberg tax, because New York's mayor, Michael Bloomberg, has also sought to tax fizzy drinks.
伴随着一个仇外心理暗示，游说者称它为彭博税，因为纽约市长迈克尔·布隆伯格也设法对碳酸饮料征税。
Bethany Gomez of Euromonitor International, a consultancy, says the industry is right to be worried.
欧睿国际的伯大尼·戈麦斯说业内人士的担心不无道理。
More than half the fizzy drinks sold in Mexico are in bottles of two litres or more, which is where the extra pesos would be most noticeable.
超过一半的在墨西哥销售的碳酸饮料每瓶在两升以上，多征收的比索将是很明显的。
A switch to smaller sizes would hit volumes.
变成小包装会打击销售量。
What is more, the tax may set a precedent⁹.
更重要的是税收可能会开创一个先例。
Coca-Cola seems to be worried that whatever happens here could spread to the rest of Latin America, says Javier Trevio, a ruling-party lawmaker.
可口可乐似乎担心，无论在这里发生什么事都可能会蔓延到拉丁美洲的其余地方，执政党国会议员哈维尔·特雷维尼奥说。
The lobbyists have made some missteps, congressmen say.
国会议员说游说者已经有一些失误。
They have created enemies in other industries by proposing that the tax be charged on sugar content, not just on soft drinks.
他们因建议根据软饮料含糖量征税创造了在其他行业的敌人。
That angers companies like Nestle, which makes sugary snacks, as well as Mexico's politically connected sugar-cane producers.
这激怒了生产含糖食品的雀巢公司以及墨西哥与政治势力有关系的甘蔗生产者。
They have also been too overt¹⁰ in their lobbying, in a political system that is used to more subtle forms of collusion between lawmakers and business.
他们在游说时表现的太明显，尤其是在国会议员和商业的关系很微妙的一个政治制度时。
One of Femsa's main lobbyists, a former ruling-party bigwig, is said to have had a blazing row with the current head of the party in the lower house, who resented being bossed around.
可口可乐的主要游说者之一，前执政党要人，与现任执政党下议院的头头进行了激烈的争吵，而此人讨厌被别人颐指气使。
So the soft-drinks lobbyists' tactics may have backfired.
所以软饮料游说者的策略可能会适得其反。
As The Economist¹¹ went to press there was still no final agreement on the soft-drinks tax—but congressmen appeared ready to approve the one-peso levy—as well as extending another tax to junk food.
如经济学家所说现在对软饮料税仍然没有达成最终协议，但国会似乎准备批准比索征收以及另一个垃圾食品税。
1.propose to 求婚；对…提出建议
This is, of course, but a single result-and supporters of inflation do not propose to give up without a fight.
当然，这不是单独一个结果，并且膨胀理论的支持者不打算不战而降。
How did you propose to your wife?
你是怎样向你妻子求婚的？
2.mainly for 主要用于
Although retailers¹² are offering huge discounts on clothes these days they are mainly for summer items.
尽管零售商店的老板们对服装提供了惊人的折扣，但是，这些折扣主要是集中在夏季服装上。
Flash mirror lenses are mainly for styling purposes.
带有闪光镜面的镜片主要用于需要特殊风格的目的。
3.attempt to 尝试，企图；试图做某事
Your letter is a feeble attempt to hide your intolerance.
你的这封信，是一种试图掩盖你狭隘心胸的苍白举动。
This was an attempt to close that chapter.
这也许是创造新开始的尝试。
4.fizzy drink 起泡饮料；汽水
You think this is a fizzy drink, right?
这是碳酸饮料对吧?
The volunteers were asked to try ten cans of fizzy drink and guess which was which.
志愿者们被要求试品10罐汽水并猜一猜是什么汽水。

1 mansion   

n.大厦，大楼；宅第

参考例句：

• The old mansion was built in 1850.这座古宅建于1850年。
• The mansion has extensive grounds.这大厦四周的庭园广阔。

2 excise   

n.(国产)货物税；vt.切除，删去

参考例句：

• I'll excise the patient's burnt areas.我去切除病人烧坏的部分。
• Jordan's free trade zone free of import duty,excise tax and all other taxes.约旦的自由贸易区免收进口税、国内货物税及其它一切税收。

3 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 obese   

adj.过度肥胖的，肥大的

参考例句：

• The old man is really obese,it can't be healthy.那位老人确实过于肥胖了，不能算是健康。
• Being obese and lazy is dangerous to health.又胖又懒危害健康。

5 obesity   

n.肥胖，肥大

参考例句：

• One effect of overeating may be obesity.吃得过多能导致肥胖。
• Sugar and fat can more easily lead to obesity than some other foods.糖和脂肪比其他食物更容易导致肥胖。

6 killer   

n.杀人者，杀人犯，杀手，屠杀者

参考例句：

• Heart attacks have become Britain's No.1 killer disease.心脏病已成为英国的头号致命疾病。
• The bulk of the evidence points to him as her killer.大量证据证明是他杀死她的。

7 diabetes   

n.糖尿病

参考例句：

• In case of diabetes, physicians advise against the use of sugar.对于糖尿病患者，医生告诫他们不要吃糖。
• Diabetes is caused by a fault in the insulin production of the body.糖尿病是由体內胰岛素分泌失调引起的。

8 apoplectic   

adj.中风的；愤怒的；n.中风患者

参考例句：

• He died from a stroke of apoplexy.他死于中风。
• My father was apoplectic when he discovered the truth.我父亲在发现真相后勃然大怒。

9 precedent   

n.先例，前例；惯例；adj.在前的，在先的

参考例句：

• Is there a precedent for what you want me to do?你要我做的事有前例可援吗？
• This is a wonderful achievement without precedent in Chinese history.这是中国历史上亘古未有的奇绩。

10 overt   

adj.公开的，明显的，公然的

参考例句：

• His opponent's intention is quite overt.他的对手的意图很明显。
• We should learn to fight with enemy in an overt and covert way.我们应学会同敌人做公开和隐蔽的斗争。

11 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。

12 retailers   

零售商，零售店( retailer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• High street retailers reported a marked increase in sales before Christmas. 商业街的零售商报告说圣诞节前销售量显著提高。
• Retailers have a statutory duty to provide goods suitable for their purpose. 零售商有为他们提供符合要求的货品的法定义务。