HUMAN RIGHT TO WATER AND THE CONSTRUCTION OF DAMS

Pending challenge for Afro-Mexicans

Abstract

It is rather ordinary that Afrodescendants, indigenous people and all those living in rural areas where water resources, biotic and mineral diversity are plentiful are violently pressured to cede their territories to state and federal authorities who often deploy the rhetoric of “public utility” and the production of clean energy in attempts to justify their endeavors. These rural communities have long resisted against these incursions by evoking their right to access water and be consulted prior to the exploitation of their lands’ natural resources.  This article examines the challenges Afro-descendants, indigenous people, and other inhabitants of a specific rural Mexican region face when confronted with “development projects” conceived by “urban others.” The case analyzed here reveals more than a decade of civil resistance in defense of the right to water and territory. In the context of the recent Mexican constitutional reforms’ recognition of Afrodescendant populations, a question almost naturally arises: Does the governing agencies’ agenda consider guaranteeing these populations’ right of access to water as part of their alleged commitment to the justice and non-discrimination consigned by the United Nations’ International Decade for People of African Descent?  What are the struggles depicted announcing about what is to come in the decade that just began.

Key Words: Afrodescendants, human right to water, construction of dams