Resumen

VAZQUEZ-GARCIA, Verónica  y  SOSA-CAPISTRAN, D. María. Without water, I cannot live: gender and the human right to water in the municipality of La Antigua, Veracruz. agric. soc. desarro [online]. 2017, vol.14, n.3, pp.405-425. ISSN 1870-5472.

This article considers the following question: Is decentralization the framework of governance most adequate to guarantee women’s human right to water? The study was carried out throughout 2015 in La Antigua, Veracruz, municipality where the drinking water network is managed by a para-municipal organization since 2008. The data were collected using a mixed methodological design that included a survey, interviews and workshops. The place of residence, location of the household, socioeconomic status, and marital status are factors that obstruct the benefit of the human right to water by women. All the women share their exclusion from the decision making process and the need to purchase bottled water for human consumption. It is concluded that the financial fragility and the lack of citizen participation make decentralization an inadequate framework to guarantee the human right to water.

Palabras llave : access to water; water attainability; water quality; water distribution; governance.