In the San Cristóbal region of Mexico, families remain without running water for days, forced to stock up until Monday, when authorities may restore the supply. In working-class neighborhoods, not even a drop flows from the taps, while children, the elderly, and families must organize themselves, as they may face a shortage that now seems chronic. But, a few kilometers away, Coca-Cola pumps operate tirelessly, 24 hours a day.
The American multinational extracts more than 1.2 million liters of water per day through three powerful pumps that feed the production of its beverages and bottled water sold throughout the country, as numerous testimonies reveal. A striking paradox: while the local population faces an unprecedented water crisis, the company manages to guarantee its productive and commercial supply chain without interruption.
The bottles often bear names that evoke purity and nature, but they come from the territory’s water reserves, just as today people complain about the impossibility of accessing a primary resource like water. Public water, a collective and fundamental human right, is privatized, bottled, labeled, and resold, even to the citizens themselves, who no longer have it for free.
Structural Inequality and Violated Rights
This situation highlights a serious structural inequality: On the one hand, a multinational corporation enjoys privileged concessions and efficient infrastructure; on the other, entire communities have been abandoned. Residents’ protests are multiplying, but they often remain ignored by local and state institutions. The right to water is continually violated, to the advantage of a system that promotes private profit over dignity and public health.
The case of San Cristóbal is not isolated. It is a symbol of an economic model in which natural resources are drained from the hands of communities and end up in the hands of large industries, with the implicit or explicit support of local policies. It is urgent that authorities intervene to reestablish a fair balance in access to water and to ensure that no company, no matter how powerful, can put citizens’ daily lives at risk.
Source: aconagua.lat
