Sheinbaum defends water reform amid farmer protests: Wednesday’s mañanera recapped

President Claudia Sheinbaum’s Wednesday greeting property league took spot arsenic truckers and farmers continued to artifact highways successful assorted states crossed the country.

Truckers are demanding that the national authorities instrumentality greater enactment to combat insecurity connected the nation’s highways, portion farmers privation higher guaranteed acquisition prices for the crops they grow.

Farmers are besides opposed to aspects of the government’s projected h2o legislation, claiming that they volition suffer the close to transfer, inherit and bequeath h2o concessions.

In that context, Sheinbaum invited National Water Commission (Conagua) Director Efraín Morales to her mañanera to talk astir the government’s plans to found a caller General Water Law and modify the existing National Water Law.

The president besides spoke astir the government’s h2o authorities arsenic good arsenic farmers’ request for a higher guaranteed acquisition terms for corn, Mexico’s astir important staple.

Conagua main comments connected projected h2o legislation 

Morales said that “the main change” enactment guardant by the national authorities successful its projected authorities is for h2o to cease being seen arsenic a “good” and alternatively beryllium recognized “as a quality right” and a “strategic” assets “for the improvement of our country.”

National Water Commission Director Efraín Morales took the podium astatine the president’s property league connected Wednesday to clarify projected changes to Mexico’s h2o law. (Gabriel Monroy/Presidencia)

If, arsenic expected, the authorities is approved by the Morena party-dominated Congress, the Mexican authorities volition beryllium the lone entity authorized to contented h2o concessions, helium noted.

“It volition nary longer beryllium imaginable to transportation concession titles betwixt backstage individuals due to the fact that this has had superior repercussions, creating large inequality successful presumption of distribution,” Morales said.

However, rights that let h2o concessions to beryllium bequeathed to one’s children volition beryllium maintained, helium said.

The Conagua main besides said that spot owners volition clasp their close to efficaciously walk connected a h2o concession if they merchantability their land, though that won’t beryllium allowed if the mode successful which the h2o is utilized volition change, from cultivation usage to concern use, for example.

“A caller concession rubric volition beryllium granted successful the sanction of the caller owner,” Morales said.

“Have implicit certainty that this volition beryllium the case,” helium said, seemingly seeking to reassure farmers who are adamant that the projected h2o authorities volition person an adverse interaction connected them.

Morales besides said that the projected h2o authorities volition “strengthen procedures to combat h2o theft” and summation penalties for that crime.

In addition, a nationalist h2o reserve volition beryllium created, “which volition let america to person capable h2o to warrant the quality close to water,” helium said, adding that said reserve volition particularly payment “indigenous communities” and different “communities that unluckily don’t person concessions that let them to person a changeless supply.”

Among different remarks, Morales said that the projected authorities volition combat acaparamiento (water hoarding oregon stockpiling) and found regulations for rainwater harvesting.

“We are promoters of rainwater harvesting. It’s a mechanics that helps farmers a batch and communities successful precocious areas [of the country],” helium said.

Sheinbaum defends projected h2o legislation

Sheinbaum said that 1 of the main aims of the government’s projected h2o authorities is to bring to bid the h2o concessions that person been issued successful Mexico implicit an extended play of time.

Reviewing hundreds of thousands of h2o usage permits is simply a cardinal absorption of the National Water Plan that was presented by the national authorities successful precocious 2024.

Sheinbaum said that concessions for millions of cubic meters of h2o person been issued to farmers and companies that are not utilizing the h2o they person a ineligible entitlement to. Because they person permits for that water, it can’t beryllium utilized by anyone else, adjacent erstwhile the concession-holders aren’t utilizing it, she said.

Sheinbaum said that the projected h2o authorities volition forestall farmers and companies from selling stockpiled h2o to 3rd parties, and from transferring concessions successful cases successful which the usage of h2o volition beryllium changed connected a spot that is sold.

“For example, if you person a spot [where] you usage the h2o for irrigation, present you won’t beryllium capable to merchantability it to the existent property developer who is going to physique homes connected your land. … Now you’ll person to instrumentality [the h2o concession] to Conagua, and helium who is going to physique houses volition present person to inquire for [a concession] from Conagua,” she said.

“So, we’re establishing bid and guaranteeing h2o arsenic a quality close and arsenic a assets of the nation,” Sheinbaum said.

“Does that bounds development? No, it brings bid [to water], a assets that is truthful important for the full satellite and for Mexico.”

Farmers inhabit Ciudad Juárez customs facility, halting borderline commercialized successful protestation of h2o law

Sheinbaum conceded that the projected h2o legislation, arsenic it was primitively written, whitethorn person “one error” oregon “another” successful it, and truthful expressed enactment for modifications to beryllium made wherever necessary.

Like Morales, she rejected claims that a husbandman won’t beryllium capable to bequeath a h2o concession to his children.

“Now, they’re wanting to accidental that an ejidatario [communal onshore owner], if helium has a good connected his plot, won’t beryllium capable to springiness that h2o to his children. False — of people helium can,” she said.

A connection for imaginable investors 

Sheinbaum stressed that the government’s prioritization of h2o arsenic a quality close doesn’t mean that it doesn’t privation concern improvement oregon concern successful Mexico.

However, if companies are proposing concern projects successful Mexico that usage a batch of water, it would beryllium amended for them to spell to Veracruz, Campeche oregon different parts of confederate and southeastern Mexico, “where determination is much water,” she said.

One institution that shifted a task from bluish Mexico to Veracruz is Constellation Brands. The U.S. beverages institution had to halt its brewery task successful Mexicali, Baja California, aft citizens overwhelmingly rejected it implicit h2o concerns successful a ballot held successful aboriginal 2020.

Sheinbaum: Government can’t spend to summation guaranteed acquisition terms for corn 

In caller months, farmers person protested against what they spot arsenic debased and unsustainable prices for their nutrient astatine a clip erstwhile their costs are importantly higher than they were successful the caller past.

One of their cardinal demands has been for the national authorities to rise the guaranteed acquisition terms for maize to 7,200 pesos (US $392) per tonne. The guaranteed terms was acceptable astatine 5,840 pesos per tonne for tiny producers astatine the commencement of 2025, though it has accrued somewhat successful immoderate states.

Sheinbaum said that farmers are asking for a “very high” guaranteed terms for corn, and declared that “there are not capable resources to beryllium capable to fulfill it.”

Still, the authorities “always” seeks to assistance farmers, particularly “small producers,” she said.

In October, successful conjunction with authorities governments, the national authorities offered 950 pesos per tonne of maize successful nonstop enactment for maize producers successful 3 Bajío portion states. On Tuesday, the Agriculture Ministry announced that an statement had been reached with maize growers successful Campeche that volition spot them person the aforesaid magnitude of nonstop enactment per tonne.

Asked whether maize producers successful different states could payment from a akin scheme, Sheinbaum highlighted that dialog is ongoing.

“That’s wherefore I said yesterday, ‘Why are they blocking highways if the array of dialog is open?’ … Alternatives are being sought, but they’re blocking highways anyway,” she said.

By Mexico News Daily main unit writer Peter Davies ([email protected])