Vote on Mexico’s Controversial Water Bill Postponed

The controversial bill that would open up Mexico's water supplies to private companies has been taken off of the table for the time being

A house vote to decide on a proposed legislation that could lead to the privatization of the administration and distribution of Mexico's water has been delayed.

On Monday, by unanimous vote by the political coordination commissions of Mexico's house of representatives, the General Water Law will be taken off of Tuesday's list of debate and vote until "further notice".

In a Monday afternoon press conference, Manlio Beltrones from the ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) member - proposing the measure - affirmed that the main political parties requested that the vote be postponed "although with different reasons as to why."

The president of the house's political coordination commission affirmed that the delay will be had "for whatever time is necessary so that doubts and misinformation that certain politicians have taken up as their campaign, can be cleared up."

It was mainly members of the minority coalition that have rejected the measure that the ruling coalition says will protect the constitutional right that the resource "belongs to the nation,".

However legal experts critical of the bill call that argument misleading. Law researcher and professor at Mexico's National Autonomous University (UNAM), Maria del Carmen Carmona, told teleSUR that there is a legal difference in what is of the nation's interest compared to the federation's.

"They confuse what is of national interest with a legal nature that defines water as a national right, from what are the interests of the federation. For example in this case the interest of the federation can be its energy reform, etcetera etcetera, instead of safeguarding the constitution as a principle that respects general, social and public interests," said the academic.

Miguel Angel Montoya, a legislative advisor to opposition parties against the bill says that it is ultimately a push to hand the control of water over to the mining and energy sectors.

"It is about private companies controlling the important means of distribution and that those private companies become the owners of water, and at the same they won't make the resource public, but rather it will be made for the mining industry or hydraulic fracturing, which is atrocious."

Although the vote has been postponed it is expected that civil groups and opposition lawmakers will protest the measure on Tuesday in front of the House of Representatives.

Source: Telesur

Read More Related Content On This Topic - Click Here

Media

Taxonomy

• Water Law
• Water Supply
• Pricing
• Governance & Planning