Water, Power and Citizenship: Social Struggles in the Basin of Mexico

This book examines the social history of water-related conflicts in the Basin of Mexico, where Mexico City is located. It illustrates how and why the struggles over water are linked to struggles for citizenship. Following a brief introduction, the first chapter explores the relationship between the physical and social aspects of water in and around Mexico City, setting out the broad outlines of the arguments explored in the rest of the book. An overarching claim is that the water conflicts are not just symptoms of physical–natural and techno–administrative problems. Rather, they are also linked to long-term socio-historical processes (e.g. the development of citizenship), as well as shorter-term political shifts (e.g. the dismantling of the “benefactor” state).

The second chapter examines the social origins of water stress in the Basin of Mexico, from pre-Columbian times to the present. Even before colonial times, the basin had been subject to significant human modifications, including a wide range of waterworks involving dams, causeways, aqueducts, canals, irrigation systems, terraces and island cities. The colonial period saw a continuation of pre-Hispanic systems, despite confrontations over the control of water as the Spaniards wrestled control of the water systems from the Indians, initially provoking acts of sabotage and eventually transforming the physical and social dynamics in radical ways. The environmental and ecological shifts that accompanied the changes in the basin’s waterscape during this period were transformative, and linked to the break up of the Indian economic and social systems. Change and conflict continued to characterize the basin’s water system through independence (1821) and revolution (1910–1917), up to the present day.

The third chapter also takes an historical perspective, and considers: the evolution of power configurations related to water control; the changing role of water experts; the power structures that have emerged to help control water; and the links to the development of citizenship. Some challenges have persisted for centuries, including protection from floods, the delivery of water supply, and the disposal of wastewater. Despite unprecedented progress in water science and technology, changes in the basin continue to undermine long-term sustainability, as well as fuelling conflicts over access to existing water-related resources.

The fourth chapter examines the water conflicts of recent decades, drawing on reports of about 2,000 occurrences of water conflict, ranging from petitions and denunciations to rallies, threats and direct action. The events are found to follow a seasonal pattern, related to precipitation, and their spatial distribution indicates a higher prevalence in more peripheral areas. The more detailed analysis shows, however, that these occurrences cannot be explained simply in terms of natural cycles and the techno–administrative delays in rapidly developing areas, but have important social dimensions. The chapter examines the protagonists of these events, their opponents, the instruments employed, and the specific features of events to gain access to water services, to improve the quality of service delivery and to contest control over water resources and infrastructure. The last two chapters focus explicitly on water and citizenship, emphasizing specific links between the control and management of water and the formation of citizenship rights in Mexico, and examining Mexican water policy in light of the confrontations that have underpinned its evolution since the late nineteenth century. On the one hand, as the author points out: “…the formal granting of universal rights to essential water supplies and related services to every Mexican-born person enshrined in the revolutionary 1917 Constitution was an unprecedented historical achievement in the struggle over the territory of citizenship in the country.” On the other hand, as his analysis makes clear, the n