The Comisión de Recursos Hidráulicos (Hydraulic Resources Commission) of Mexico’s Chamber of Deputies initiated a period of public hearings today to inform a new draft of the Ley General de Aguas (General Water Law), which will regulate the management of country’s water resources.
An earlier draft of the water bill, which appeared to have been “fast-tracked” for approval, provoked concern among civil society organizations, agrarian groups, academics, and some opposition lawmakers about the privatization of water services and the process that produced the bill, which critics said was not transparent. Concerns include the bill’s proposals to limit the human right to water to 50 liters per day, to liberalize water provision and management—including the licensing of private enterprises for the development of large-scale hydraulic projects—and to limit the independent study and testing of the country’s water resources.
According to a statement released by the commission, the earlier bill—popularly known as the Ley Korenfeld (Korenfeld Law) after the bill’s principal framer, David Korenfeld, the director of the Comisión Nacional del Agua (National Water Commission—CONAGUA)—“must give way to a new one based on public hearings where specialists, officials, community representatives, civil society organizations, research and higher education institutions, business and chamber of commerce representatives and the general public can make their proposals.” Korenfeld is currently under fire for employing a government helicopter for private use.
Meanwhile, proponents of the original bill have rejected claims that the the provisions it contains regarding the licensing of private companies to perform water management and provision services constitutes an effort to “privatize” the country’s water resources. The president of the Comisión de Aguas y Saneamiento (Water and Sanitation Commission) of the Chamber, Kamel Athié, denied that granting such licenses constitutes privatization of the resource and noted that the bill includes language describing water as a national security issue.
