The political and economic interests that activated the El Zapotillo Dam, turning it into an environmental enigma for the Verde River (Mexico)

Abstract

In this article, we review an agreement in 2021 between the president of Mexico and three rural communities to operate the El Zapotillo dam, built in Jalisco on the Verde River; we locate its socio-environmental impact on water supply to cities. We present a longitudinal follow-up of this conflict up to the unprecedented agreement in the context of Mexican water politics. In the research conducted, we used a methodological approach guided by cultural ecology that studies the relationships between the environment and culture, and we problematized the existing inequalities in the political management of natural environments. We conclude that the conflicts generated around the El Zapotillo dam demonstrate that the concession for water use based on the logic of economic exploitation transforms a common good into a raw material for products whose dividends are distributed unequally, leading to environmental imbalances.