La política urbana de agua potable en México: del centralismo y los subsidios a la municipalización, la autosuficiencia y la privatización

Abstract

Resumen:Este artículo presenta la evolución institucional y legal del servicio urbano de agua potable en México durante la segunda mitad del siglo XX. Además de ofrecer un breve esquema de análisis de la política pública, en la parte principal se proponen tres etapas esenciales por la que ha pasado esta política. Dichas etapas se basan en el tipo de arreglo institucional que caracterizó a la prestación del servicio de agua potable en cada periodo. La primera es la etapa centralista de las juntas federales de agua, prevaleciente de 1948 a 1983; después viene la etapa de la municipalización, iniciada en 1983 en que el servicio se asigna a los gobiernos locales y, en tercer lugar, está la promoción de organismos operadores autónomos y manejados como empresas, iniciada por la Comisión Nacional del Agua a partir de 1989. Al final, se revisan las vicisitudes del impulso a la participación del sector privado en el servicio urbano de agua y el trastorno que éste tuvo ante la crisis económica de 1995.Palabras clave: suministro de agua; política pública; gobierno local; municipio; privatización. Abstract:This article presents the institutional and legal evolution of urban water supply services in Mexico during the second half of the twentieth century. It sets out a brief scheme for public policy analysis and, in its main part, proposes three main stages urban water policy has been through. These stages are based on the institutional arrangement that has characterized water supply in each period. The first is a centralist stage of federal water boards that prevailed from 1948 to 1983, later comes the stage of municipalization started in 1983 when the service was assigned to local governments, and, in third place, the article reviews the promotion of autonomous and business-like operating units undertaken by the National Water Commission in 1989. In the last part, the article reviews the troubles posed by private sector participation in urban water services and the mishap it faced because of the economic 1995 crisis.Key words: water supply; public policy; local government; municipality; privatization.

Las plantas potabilizadoras en el río Sonora: una revisión de la recuperación del desastre

“…Desde la década de 1980, el gobierno federal fue descentralizando de forma gradual la administración del servicio de agua potable, alcantarillado y saneamiento para adjudicársela a los municipios con la concurrencia estatal. Esto se concretó en la Ley de Aguas Nacionales de 1992, y en 1996 ya se había logrado la municipalización en dos tercios de los estados del país (Pineda, 2002).…”

Fundamentals, obstacles and challenges of public participation in water Management in Mexico

“…Public participation is a critical component of the process of formulating and executing public policies (Pineda-Pablos, 2002). In the locality, participation is reflected in the community's compromise, decentralized management and participative development (Córdova-Bojórquez, Romo & Peña, 2006;Perevochtchikova, Aponte-Hernández, Zamudio-Santos, & Sandoval-Romero, 2016).…”

“…In the locality, participation is reflected in the community's compromise, decentralized management and participative development (Córdova-Bojórquez, Romo & Peña, 2006;Perevochtchikova, Aponte-Hernández, Zamudio-Santos, & Sandoval-Romero, 2016). Then, participation in integrated water management leads to decisions made by authorities of different levels (federal representatives, regional and state managers), and allows citizens with the right to vote (users with a water concession) and others just with voice (local or municipal managers, academy, organized citizens)to become a collective authority questioning the social division of labour and responsibilities in the management between the government and those governed, with the attempt to:1) reach consensus on how water is used or allocated in different areas (Marañón, 2010;Marín, 2014;Aguilar-Barajas et al, 2016;Romero-Navarrete, 2016); or 2) competing to influence the design and local execution of water policies (Pineda-Pablos, 2002).…”

Beneath the Surface: Intranational Institutions and Management of the United States — Mexico Transboundary Santa Cruz Aquifer

“…CEASonora, along with ADWR, cochairs the Arizona^Mexico Commission water committee as shown in figure 3. Since 1989 CONAGUA has promoted the municipalization of water servicesöthat is, the transfer of state-run utilities to municipalities, usually in the form of parastatal or private entities (Pineda Pablos, 2002). In the USCRB ownership and operational responsibility for the Nogales, Sonora municipal-run water utility (OOMAPAS) was devolved to the municipality from the state in June 2005.…”

“…Lastly, decentralization within Mexico has led to capacity gaps, particularly at the municipal level, due to a mismatch between agency mandates and resources. Pineda Pablos (2002), in his analysis of the evolution of urban water provision in Mexico, finds that insufficient organizational and technical abilities and the transitory nature of municipal administrations, which are subject to reelection every three years, have impeded the effectiveness of decentralization. OOMAPAS is no exception.…”