Abstract

MALDONADO ARANDA, Salvador. Perverse effects of hydraulic policies in Mexico: residual drainage of Valley of Mexico and the creation of an irrigation district. Nueva antropol [online]. 2005, vol.19, n.64, pp.75-97. ISSN 0185-0636.

In this article the author reconstructs the struggle, negotiation and resistance processes of one of the most important hydraulic projects - Cutzamala System- of Mexico City. The political and social processes that characterized the hydraulic policies implementation related to this system are explained, as well as the effects it had on the inhabitants of rural villages located in proximities of Zumpango Lagoon. The author analyzes how the Mexican Government, by means of its official agencies, validate social discrimination and inequity, through the government policies that they implement at the regional and local levels. First, the author presents an historical and contemporary panorama of the drainage policies for Mexico City, subsequently, a drainage system project at Zumpango region is described. Finally, the article analyzes the reconfiguration of the community alternative political expressions, in the national context.

Keywords : hydraulic policies; irrigation system; government; negotiation; resistance.