Mexico City - Mexico's congress blocked an attempt to roll back part of a tax on soft drinks Thursday, responding to an uproar from public health advocates. The tax of about 10 percent, imposed two years ago, was intended to attack Mexico's obesity epidemic by raising the price for sugar-added drinks.

Last week, the lower house of congress proposed to cut the tax in half for some drinks with less sugar. Consumer groups, along with national and international health groups, urged Mexico's Senate to restore the full tax, which it did Thursday, and the lower house quickly followed suit.

By leaving the tax in place, Mexico "assured that this tax will remain a model for similar measures in the U.S. and around the world," said former Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg of New York, whose philanthropy supports the Mexican groups that pushed for the tax.