Water management in Mexico. From concrete-heavy persistence to community-based resistance
According to Mexico’s National Water Commission (CONAGUA), after dominating for 50 years, supplyside policies were replaced by demand management in the 1980s, and this focus has been superseded by 'sustainability'-oriented policies since the turn of the century, combined with greater par...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Water Alternatives Association
2017-06-01
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| Series: | Water Alternatives |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.water-alternatives.org/index.php/alldoc/articles/vol10/v10issue2/359-a10-2-9/file |
| _version_ | 1831834218338975744 |
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| author | Cindy McCulligh Darcy Tetreault |
| author_facet | Cindy McCulligh Darcy Tetreault |
| author_sort | Cindy McCulligh |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | According to Mexico’s National Water Commission (CONAGUA), after dominating for 50 years, supplyside
policies were replaced by demand management in the 1980s, and this focus has been superseded by
'sustainability'-oriented policies since the turn of the century, combined with greater participation in decisionmaking.
Despite a discursive turn to demand management and a recognition of increasing environmental
degradation, in this article we argue that a focus on 'concrete-heavy' projects persists, with increased privatesector
participation and facing increased resistance from local communities. From the mid-1940s to the mid-
1970s, dam construction flourished in Mexico, not only for irrigation but increasingly for hydroelectricity and
urban water supply. Since the adoption of neoliberal economic policies, from the late 1980s onward, public
investment in hydraulic infrastructure has decreased but we argue that the water management model has not
shifted significantly in terms of its penchant for building large dams. We review socio-environmental conflicts
resulting from hydraulic infrastructure projects since the turn of the century, and analyse in greater detail the case
of the Zapotillo Dam in Jalisco. We argue that these conflicts highlight the reluctance of government water
authorities to shift away from water management centred on supply through large infrastructure projects, and
linked to ideas of progress and development. These conflicts also highlight the increasing dissonance between
official state discourse, with its stress on ecological sustainability and political participation, and the actual
orientation of water policies and projects. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-23T04:08:48Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-f73d66536beb4d70b5d05597725fe399 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1965-0175 1965-0175 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-23T04:08:48Z |
| publishDate | 2017-06-01 |
| publisher | Water Alternatives Association |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Water Alternatives |
| spelling | doaj.art-f73d66536beb4d70b5d05597725fe3992022-12-21T18:00:33ZengWater Alternatives AssociationWater Alternatives1965-01751965-01752017-06-01102341369Water management in Mexico. From concrete-heavy persistence to community-based resistanceCindy McCulligh0Darcy Tetreault1Centre for Research and Advanced Studies in Social Anthropology (CIESAS), Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico;Department of Development Studies, Autonomous University of Zacatecas, Zacatecas; Mexico; According to Mexico’s National Water Commission (CONAGUA), after dominating for 50 years, supplyside policies were replaced by demand management in the 1980s, and this focus has been superseded by 'sustainability'-oriented policies since the turn of the century, combined with greater participation in decisionmaking. Despite a discursive turn to demand management and a recognition of increasing environmental degradation, in this article we argue that a focus on 'concrete-heavy' projects persists, with increased privatesector participation and facing increased resistance from local communities. From the mid-1940s to the mid- 1970s, dam construction flourished in Mexico, not only for irrigation but increasingly for hydroelectricity and urban water supply. Since the adoption of neoliberal economic policies, from the late 1980s onward, public investment in hydraulic infrastructure has decreased but we argue that the water management model has not shifted significantly in terms of its penchant for building large dams. We review socio-environmental conflicts resulting from hydraulic infrastructure projects since the turn of the century, and analyse in greater detail the case of the Zapotillo Dam in Jalisco. We argue that these conflicts highlight the reluctance of government water authorities to shift away from water management centred on supply through large infrastructure projects, and linked to ideas of progress and development. These conflicts also highlight the increasing dissonance between official state discourse, with its stress on ecological sustainability and political participation, and the actual orientation of water policies and projects.http://www.water-alternatives.org/index.php/alldoc/articles/vol10/v10issue2/359-a10-2-9/fileWater managementdamssocio-environmental conflictsMexico |
| spellingShingle | Cindy McCulligh Darcy Tetreault Water management in Mexico. From concrete-heavy persistence to community-based resistance Water Alternatives Water management dams socio-environmental conflicts Mexico |
| title | Water management in Mexico. From concrete-heavy persistence to community-based resistance |
| title_full | Water management in Mexico. From concrete-heavy persistence to community-based resistance |
| title_fullStr | Water management in Mexico. From concrete-heavy persistence to community-based resistance |
| title_full_unstemmed | Water management in Mexico. From concrete-heavy persistence to community-based resistance |
| title_short | Water management in Mexico. From concrete-heavy persistence to community-based resistance |
| title_sort | water management in mexico from concrete heavy persistence to community based resistance |
| topic | Water management dams socio-environmental conflicts Mexico |
| url | http://www.water-alternatives.org/index.php/alldoc/articles/vol10/v10issue2/359-a10-2-9/file |
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