Mexico Should Be Spending Billions on Water, Not Oil
The next government needs to invest more in infrastructure that helps tame the impact of droughts and climate change.
In search of a drink.
Photographer: Hector Vivas/Getty Images South AmericaThe two stories ran just days apart: The first article warned that Mexico City, one of the world’s most-populated metropoles, could be just months away from running out of water. The second reported that the Mexican government gave its oil company Pemex some 1.37 trillion pesos (or $80.5 billion) in capital injections and tax breaks between 2019 and 2023.
These two headlines encapsulate the distorted strategic priorities of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador: For the debt-ridden oil champion so dear to his nationalist heart, no expense is too great; meanwhile, the federal office in charge of improving water availability suffers budget cuts despite growing shortages affecting the country, including its capital. Whoever takes AMLO’s place following this June’s elections can’t afford to follow that script.