Capturing the waters: the hydraulic mission in the Lerma-Chapala Basin, Mexico (1876-1976)

The hydraulic mission of the Mexican federal government, embodied in its hydraulic bureaucracy (hydrocracy), led to the centralization of water development and the creation of water overexploitation in the Lerma-Chapala Basin between 1876 and 1976. In the late nineteenth century, the federal government began asserting its control over water, both to promote commercial agriculture and to arbitrate in water allocation conflicts between large landowners. The centralization of water development accelerated after the Mexican Revolution (1910-1920) and continued until the 1970s. These 50 years witnessed a large increase in the irrigated area in the Lerma-Chapala Basin, intertwined with the formation and expansion of a strong hydrocracy with a keen sense of its hydraulic mission. This led to the creation of water overexploitation in the basin, through the construction of dams and irrigation systems, and modifications to Lake Chapala. This article argues that this was not an unforeseen side effect, but the deliberate intent of the hydrocrats working in the basi