Written by Ji Su Lee, Ji Su Lee is a structural analyst/risk consultant in the Advanced Technology + Research team at Arup in San Francisco.
As Mexico City continues to recover from the September 19th earthquake, certain areas surrounding the city report that they are still suffering from limited access to potable water — some for as long as three weeks after the September 7th earthquake. While the lack of a modern, centralized water distribution system is also at play, the residents of these areas report that the lack of potable water is as much as a political issue as it is an infrastructure issue.
In much of Mexico, it is unsafe to drink tap water. Mexico also does not have a centralized, pressurized potable water distribution system. As a result, trucks deliver water to many unplanned neighborhoods and slums in Mexico (e.g. irregular settlements in Xochimilco). For such communities, the water trucks serve as their sole source of clean drinking water. Thus, the lack of potable water supply after the recent earthquake has been a critical lifelines issue for many living outside of the immediate vicinity of Mexico City. Even if damage to the limited pipeline system is repaired, there is also a need to coordinate regular water deliveries to many other regions that already suffer from inconsistent water management.
Since the earthquake, limited access to clean drinking water has been further exacerbated for these communities–as a result of both poor infrastructure and political manipulation. Some neighborhoods have resorted to buying potable water from private pipelines. However, the private agencies that own these pipelines are doubling the price of water to take advantage of the situation. In Colonia Mixcoac, residents did not have water for more than three weeks after the September 7th earthquake. On September 27th, about a dozen people traveled to the nearest office of water systems. They gathered there with the intention of requesting a water truck for their homes, and said their trip to the office was motivated by a growing sentiment that it is difficult to request/receive aid if one is not a supporter of the PRD (the current ruling party). A woman at the water systems office, who has spent 8 years coordinating water truck deliveries, confirmed that there is indeed a political trend. She told news reporters that some political operatives ask for political credentials (i.e. voting card) in exchange for water.
The tendency to provide supplies in exchange for political support has been reported for other forms of post-earthquake relief. In Xochimilco, political operative have asked residents for their voter ID in exchange for food, water, and building materials. A resident whose home had collapsed in the earthquake said that her ID was buried in the debris of her fallen home, and that, upon sharing this information, the workers left without giving her any relief packages. Local residents and activists have also commented on the lack of transparency with regards to government aid and relief distribution. People fear that aid will be diverted to groups closest to the politicians, rather than to those who need it most. These fears are not only fueled by the current post-earthquake recovery efforts, but also by claims of diverted aid following other natural disasters in recent memory (particularly the twin hurricanes in 2013).
Understandably, skepticism towards politicians and their motives has been growing, particularly in areas where infrastructure conditions were questionable even before the earthquake. Some elected officials, including President Nieto and Morelos state governor Graco Ramirez, have been jeered by crowds as they toured affected areas. The inconsistent response of government officials in this year’s earthquakes resemble the beginnings of the political upheaval that had occurred after the 1985 earthquake. Ilen Semo, a historian at the Iberoamerican University, believes that housing and reconstruction will become pivotal issues in next year’s election campaigns.
Sources
http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/nacion/sociedad/acusan-politizacion-de-agua-despues-del-sismo
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/27/mexico-earthquake-political-aftershocks
https://www.nytimes.com/es/2017/09/19/servicios-terremoto-mexico-sismo-cfe-hospitales/?mcubz=0
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/11/world/americas/mexico-earthquake-aid.html?auth=login-email
