Policy networks and strategy design to overcome the water crisis. The cases of the aquifers of the Valley of León, Guanajuato, and the Valley of Aguascalientes (México)

Abstract

The present article is based on a study addressing the confrontation between political projects around the management of two aquifers in central Mexico that are threatened by overpumping. The analysis focuses on the kinds of relationships established between the public and private actors involved in the management of underground water, as well as in the institutional arrangements shaping these relationships, drawing on the theoretical perspective of public policy networks. The main objective of the article is to highlight not only the existence of distributive conflicts over water in Mexico but to identify the structural conditions of the country’s persistent water crisis. On the basis of the research results I put forward two main findings: first, public policies and strategies grounded on the notion that water is an economic good are insufficient and partial because they leave out solutions that seek greater distributive justice and are committed to environmental sustainability; second, developing effective solutions to the water crisis will require the consolidation of institutional arrangements based on rules that help to shape up a more inclusive water sector supportive of strategies to strengthen local development.