The Politics of Water in Mexico City

The privatization of water in the Mexico City Metropolitan Area is a long and complex process that continues today. The city’s greatest privatization effort, the National Water Law of 1992, was imposed by the federal government with assurances of improvement in accessibility, quality and sustainability. The resulting system that exists today has been largely ineffective in achieving these initial goals. Despite some progress in infrastructure, the partially-private system has aggravated the very social inequalities it aimed to alleviate, further marginalizing the poorest citizens through their water’s high costs, far-reaching inaccessibility, and poor quality. In the decentralized water system, contradictions become apparent. Promises of expansion and improvement are unkept and unpunished, accountability is lost between government and private agencies, leaving citizens confused about who holds the responsibility, the blame, and most importantly, the solution