FISAC

OVERVIEW

Fundación de Investigaciones Sociales, A.C. (FISAC, Foundation for Social Research) is the main alcohol industry front group operating in Mexico. Established in 1981 in Mexico City, FISAC functions to safeguard industry profit interests, shape public discourse around “responsible drinking”, and obstruct evidence-based alcohol control policies. It represents major transnational alcohol producers including Diageo México, Pernod Ricard México, Bacardí, Casa Cuervo, Pedro Domecq, Moët Hennessy and Herradura (Brown‑Forman). As the national counterpart of the International Alliance for Responsible Drinking (IARD), FISAC channels the global industry’s strategies into the Mexican policy and communication landscape, reinforcing coordinated narratives of self‑regulation and corporate social responsibility.

FISAC presents itself as a non-profit public health organisation and declares that its purpose is “to contribute to the prevention of the ‘harmful use of alcohol’ through education and information programmes that promote responsible consumption,” a formulation translated from Spanish and reflecting the industry’s preferred terminology. The use of expressions such as “harmful use” and “responsible consumption” narrows the focus to individual behaviour and conceals the group’s alignment with corporate interests and its strategies to delay or weaken effective alcohol regulation in Mexico.

MEMBERs

Corporations

  • Diageo México, S.A. de C.V. (owned by Diageo)
  • Pernod Ricard México, S.A. de C.V. (owned by Pernod Ricard)
  • Bacardí y Compañía, S.A. de C.V. (owned by Bacardí)
  • Casa Cuervo, S.A. de C.V. (owned byf Becle)
  • Industrias Vinícolas Pedro Domecq (jointly owned by Grupo Emperador and González Byass)
  • La Madrileña, S.A. de C.V.
  • Moët Hennessy México (owned by LVMH)
  • Tequila Herradura (owned by Brown-Forman Corporation)

Associations and corporate partners

LEADERSHIP AND GOVERNANCE

  • Jérome Seignon, President of the Board. CEO at BLN Brands.
  • Jessica Paredes Durán, General Director.
  • Adriana Rojas Ruiz, Program Coordinator.

STRATEGIC MESSAGING AND POLICY INFLUENCE

FISAC presents itself as a public-minded organisation focused on “prevention”, yet its communication and partnerships consistently reinforce alcohol-industry interests. Its main approaches include:

  • Promoting individual-focused narratives such as “responsible consumption” and “harmful use”, which place responsibility on consumers and minimise the importance of overall alcohol availability, affordability, and pervasive marketing.
  • Omitting or sidelining effective population-level policies, taxation, marketing restrictions, enforcement on digital advertising, and limits on sales, while positioning education and voluntary industry actions as primary solutions.
  • Embedding industry messaging into public programmes through collaborations with government bodies, including CONADIC and municipal “Conduce sin Alcohol” initiatives, providing alcohol companies with access to policy-adjacent spaces.
  • Using training courses, certifications, and thematic events (for example on youth health or foetal alcohol spectrum disorders) to present itself as a neutral source of expertise, while reinforcing selective interpretations of alcohol risk that avoid regulatory measures.
  • Normalising industry involvement in health and safety debates by maintaining partnerships and media visibility that frame alcohol producers as legitimate actors in public health discussions.
  • Representing and being composed of major alcohol companies that obscure the full extent of alcohol-related harms and promote selective or misleading interpretations of scientific evidence.

INITIATIVES AND PROGRAMMES

FISAC promotes initiatives that present the organisation as a public-health actor while reinforcing industry messaging centred on individual responsibility, selective information, and voluntary actions. Its main programmes include:

  • “Alcohol Infórmate” platform (ongoing): A permanent communication channel used to distribute “responsible consumption” messages and educational content that frames alcohol harm as a matter of personal behaviour. The platform avoids discussion of regulatory measures and supports the public image of member companies.
  • “Te lo pedimos todos” (We All Ask You) (ongoing)
  • A national campaign implemented with FIA México, Fundación Carlos Slim, and multiple municipal governments. The initiative promotes sober driving as an individual choice and positions “responsibility” as the solution to drink-driving. It provides indirect visibility and influence for companies such as Diageo, Pernod Ricard, and Casa Cuervo in public-safety spaces.
  • “El trago estándar” (Standard Drink) materials (2015, 2023)
    An informational publication that promotes the use of Mexico’s legally defined “standard drink” of 13 grams of pure alcohol. While the standard-drink concept can be useful in clinical settings or in prevention efforts focused on specific risk groups, FISAC applies it in broad public communication campaigns that expose the entire population to industry-aligned narratives and contribute to normalising alcohol use. The material emphasises individual responsibility and incorporates concepts such as “responsible consumption”, while avoiding discussion of population-level policies that reduce alcohol harm.
  • Shots de Verdad (Shots of Truth) (2023): A youth-oriented programme that delivers selective messages on alcohol awareness and “responsible drinking”. It focuses on personal decision-making and avoids addressing advertising, affordability, and other commercial forces that drive youth alcohol use. Funded and disseminated through FISAC communication channels.
  • Conduce sin Alcohol collaborations (ongoing): Participation in municipal and state enforcement efforts where FISAC integrates industry language into official messaging on road safety.
  • FISAC Academy and online certification courses (ongoing): Training modules positioned as evidence-based education but structured around industry-aligned concepts. Courses emphasise personal responsibility and omit discussion of population-level policy solutions such as taxation or marketing regulation.
  • Youth and school-based prevention activities (ongoing): Activities in schools and universities that emphasise abstinence for minors while overlooking the commercial drivers of youth alcohol use and the industry practices that portray alcohol use as aspirational or as a marker of adulthood.
  • Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) events and congresses (2024 and 2025): Technical and academic-style events that focus on individual behaviour during pregnancy and present FISAC as a source of specialised knowledge, while avoiding structural drivers of consumption.
  • Alliances with health-adjacent organisations (ongoing): Partnerships with groups such as FundHepa that portray FISAC as a credible actor in liver-health debates and keep attention on individual risk awareness rather than regulatory action that reduces population-level harm.