WATER AND SOCIETY IN THE HIGH LERMA: THE TEPETITLÁN MODULE

Abstrac

Water is a resource that shapes many social relationships and links human groups in hydrological basins. The Lerma-Chapala Basin has been one of the most affected by years of hydrological anomalies between 1999 and 2003, insofar as they have implied a serious reduction of usable water, affecting human activities and ecosystems. This situation increased tensions between the state governments and federal government, as well as between different groups of users of the resource. A process of renegotiation was carried out regarding criteria for water distribution at the scale of the whole Basin, a process which ended in December, 2004. The situation of the Lerma River High Basin, which belongs mainly to the State of México, is characterized by being the subbasin with the least hydraulic development, with farmers of peasant features using its water, and at the same time by being the most ecologically deteriorated sub-region. This study analyzes the conditions in which access to irrigation water is carried out in the valleys of Ixtlahuaca-Atlacomulco.

Palabras clave: Conflicts, indigenous people, Lerma-Chapala, irrigation, transference

Volumen 4, Número 1
Ene-Jun 2007

Director

Said Infante Gil

Director de ASyD

Benito Ramírez Valverde

Comité Asesor Editorial Interno

Ma. Eugenia Chávez Arellano
Juan Antonio Leos Rodríguez
Jaime Matus Gardea
Jacinta Palerm Viqueira
Verónica Vázquez García
Emma Zapata Martelo
Pilar Alberti Manzanares