Contrasting water securities: the Mexican state facing downstream stakeholders in the Suchiate transboundary river basin. Issue 1 (2nd January 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Kauffer, Edith
• Is Part Of: International journal of water resources development. Volume 35:Issue 1(2019)
• Page Start: 30
• Page End: 48
• Publication Date: 2019-01-02
• Subjects: Water security -- Suchiate River basin -- transboundary waters -- human security -- floods; Water resources development -- Periodicals; Water-supply, Agricultural -- Periodicals; 333.91005
• DOI: 10.1080/07900627.2017.1393400
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0790-0627

Abstract

Abstract: Based on extensive interviews, fieldwork and archival research conducted in southern Mexico, this article explores and analyzes contrasting water-security perspectives of diverse stakeholders in flood-prone portions of the transboundary Suchiate River basin. Complexities of transboundary water issues along an international river that is also a border produce power relationships between the Mexican state and inhabitants, plus historical tensions with riparian neighbour Guatemala, and diverse meanings among local stakeholders. The Mexican state conceptualizes water security as a conventional national-security issue, whereas the basin's rural inhabitants consider it a matter of human security, albeit in diverse ways that provoke internal conflicts.