The commissions of the Chamber of Deputies approved the water reform, which plans to modify the National Water Law, amid protests and blockades by farmers; Today it is discussed in plenary.
Mexico City, December 3 (However).– The reform to the National Water Lawwhich seeks revert the “merchandise” character that the water resource acquired after the salt law of 1992, and a General Water Lawwas endorsed in commissions of the Chamber of Deputies this Wednesday, and it will be discussed today same in the Fullin the middle of the presence of farmers and representatives who they followed the vote inside San Lázaro and they threaten with blockades outside the enclosure.
The Hydraulic Resources Commission of the Chamber of Deputies endorsed the reforms with 28 votes in favor, from Morena and its allies, and 10 against, from PRIAN. Two Citizen Movement votes abstained.
This is an initiative sent by President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo to issue the General Water Law and reform the National Water Law to guarantee the human right to water and return this resource to the Nation as a strategic asset.
On the one hand, the General Water Law that establishes the bases for the regulation of the fourth constitutional article; and on the other hand, the reform to the Water Law that is regulatory of article 27. The second is the one that lays the foundations for the Mexican State to recover stewardship over the management of our national waters in favor of the people of Mexico.
The main change in Sheinbaum’s proposal is that water is no longer seen as a commodity and is recognized as a human right and a strategic asset for the development of the country. The main change is that the Government of Mexico is the only one authorized to carry out the granting of concessions. It will no longer be possible to transmit concession titles between individuals because it is generating “strong effects.”
Another aspect that this reform is set to modify has to do with changes in the use of concessions, as this has led to “concessions being granted for agricultural use that end up being used in industrial parks, that end up being used in golf courses, or that are even taken to real estate developments without there being State control.”
During the discussion in committees, peasants and representatives of the Mexican countryside were present, who blocked some access to the Chamber of Deputies and even witnessed the discussion in committees in San Lázaro. Blockades have spread in various parts of the country in previous days and weeks.
Deputies advance discussion for today
The president of the Chamber of Deputies, the opposition member Kenia López Rabadán, questioned that the water reform will be discussed today in the Plenary Session of San Lázaro. “I do not support, I do not share, I do not agree that the Agenda be modified so that this discussion can be moved forward. The Water Law is a law that will directly impact almost 600 thousand people who currently have a concession,” he assured.
“I do not agree with this fast-trackI do not agree with this modification; Of course, I respect our internal regulations, we will put it for consideration by the Plenary and if the majority of the Plenary decides that this agenda be modified and this discussion be moved forward, obviously I will conduct the discussion with honor and ethics,” he added.
“What we are doing is not illegal. It is within the legislative procedure,” said Ricardo Monreal, the leader of the Morenoist caucus and president of the Political Coordination Board (Jucopo) in the Chamber of Deputies. “We have spent several days listening to the producers of this country for hours. Unfortunately there is a lot of misinformation about the content of the opinion that was approved in committees,” he added.
Monreal then asked to begin the debate and propose modifications to the reform. “To demonstrate to the people of Mexico that we will never act against producers, small ejidatario owners, community members, and that there is not a single provision or article that affects the communities. On the contrary, we reinforce their rights,” he argued. “Of course: we are going to denounce the hoarders.”
Conagua explains what does and does not change with water reform
Efraín Morales López, general director of the National Water Commission (Conagua), spoke in an interview with “Los Periodistas”, a program that is broadcast on the However On Air on YouTube, the central axes of the proposal to reform the National Water Law.
“The center of the initiative is to reverse [esto]”With this new law, restore their rights to the people of Mexico and ensure that water stops being seen as a commodity and that access is recognized and facilitated for human consumption by all.”
Efraín Morales indicated that the main structural change of the reform lies in eliminating the ability of individuals to negotiate concession titles among themselves, with the State regaining full control over the resource.
misinformation” that has been generated around the proposal, particularly among agricultural producers. He maintained that it is totally false that a producer cannot inherit his land or that he cannot sell it while retaining the concession title for the new owner. Morales López clarified that “the society of land and water is an indivisible society” and that the aspects of inheritance have been “fully clarified to give complete certainty, especially to agricultural producers.”
Regarding the accusations that the opinion promotes the privatization of hydraulic works or the water and sanitation system, the official pointed out: “That is totally false. We do not include any chapter that has to do with privatization. Nowhere in the law does it say that.”
When asked about who are the major beneficiaries of the 1992 neoliberal law who now oppose the reform, the director of Conagua identified the “hoarders.”
“These are the same people who, under the protection of public power and political power, carried out water hoarding and made water a private business against the majority,” he stated. As examples of those who are defending “the abuse, the privilege and the advantage in which they were able to place themselves during the neoliberal system,” he mentioned the case of the former governor of Chihuahua César Duarte and families like the LeBarón.
The opinion of the new law, the product of more than 500 meetings and dialogue forums, is already being discussed in San Lázaro. Quick approval is expected, so that it later reaches the Senate where it will have to be discussed and voted on.