Movies, coffee, aquarium visits: Mexican businesses looking to boost voter turnout in the elections

As Mexico's elections approach, many companies are joining a national initiative that offers deals and discounts to encourage people to vote on Sunday.

Over 95 million registered citizens are eligible to vote in the elections, including 12 million living abroad. However, not all citizens go to the polls. In Mexico, voting is considered as a civic duty but there is no law making it mandatory to vote. Therefore, there are no legal consequences if they choose not to do it.

Mexico could have a woman president for the first time, as the two main candidates to become the successor of Andres Manuel López Obrador, also known as AMLO, are women. With over 628 congressional seats and thousands of local positions at stake, 2024 is set to be the largest election the nation has ever seen.

In this context, restaurants, coffee shops, cinemas and other businesses have been offering special deals to Mexican residents who can prove they have already voted.

For example, Mexican citizens that want to go to the movies should know that Cinemex will offer a 3-for-1 deals; Cinépolis will offer 4 tickets for 100 Mexican pesos for traditional theaters or 4 tickets for 200 Mexican pesos for higher-value theaters like VIP, IMAX, 4DX, and Screen X; and Cinedot will offer 4 tickets for 100 Mexican pesos with a medium bag of popcorn.

The restaurants owned by Grupo Alsea have promised to offer discounts ranging from percentages to specific amounts off the bill. For instance, Italian restaurant chain Italianni's announced that, by showing a discount coupon plus an ink-marked thumb after voting, customers will receive a total discount of 200 Mexican pesos with a minimum purchase of 600 Mexican pesos.

The Cheesecake Factory chain announced that it is also joining this campaign by offering a 10 percent discount on the total bill when showing a marked thumb on Election Sunday.

Acuarium Inbursa announced a deal for June 2, reducing the general admission price from 280 Mexican pesos per person to 200 Mexican pesos. This ticket includes access to three experiences: the aquarium, an interactive room, and the "Pirates'' exhibit.

The National Chamber of the Restaurant and Catering Industry of Mexico (CANIRAC) launched the campaign "Café Gratis al que #EligeVotar" ("Free Coffee for those who #ElectVote"), which offers a free coffee drink to those who can prove they have voted in the upcoming elections. The initiative will take place on election day.