Tensions in governance from below: Independent water systems in the municipality of Huajuapan de León, Oaxaca, Mexico

Abstract

The objective of this research is to analyze the tensions faced by the Independent Water Systems (SIAs) in Huajuapan de León, Oaxaca, Mexico, through the Analytical Framework of Governance (MAG). Using a qualitative methodology, four cases were studied with a total of twenty in-depth interviews with representatives of citizen committees and municipal authorities in charge of water management. The results indicate that the SIAs are institutions established and managed by their own users, who have consolidated and sustained local water management. However, three main tensions that the systems face were detected: first, due to the payment of the electricity necessary for the removal and maintenance of the supply system; second, due to the coverage and expansion of infrastructure due to increasing urbanization; and third, due to the defense of water control with respect to the municipal operating agency. It is concluded that the SIAs represent an alternative in water management within the municipality which must be considered in the water regulations for the protection and use of it. These experiences allow us to distinguish a type of governance from below, in which organizational forms are developed that, besides solving local access to water, demonstrate ways in which they care for and defend water for the maintenance of life in their community.