National Action Party (PAN) Senator Jorge Ruiz Preciado Rodriguez proposed a bill last week that would raise the drinking age in Mexico from 18 to 21.
Amending Article 220 of the General Health Law would “reduce the chances of young people developing alcohol addiction” and “lower the number of deaths from road accidents due to alcohol consumption among young people,” Preciado said.
To back up these claims, he cited a national survey on addiction which shows most Mexicans begin drinking alcohol between the age of 12 and 17; and that drunk driving accidents are the leading cause of death among those aged 19 to 25.However, the fact that the majority of young Mexicans already begin drinking before reaching the legal age of 18 suggests that raising this limit would have little effect on whether they drink or not.