Water as a human right and as an economic resource: An example from Mexico

ABSTRACT: The conceptWater asHumanRight is briefly explored as developing countries try to meet theMillenniumDevelopmentGoals, particularlywith respect to access to safewater. Although in most parts of the world, development dollars have been steadily decreasing, in this chapter, an example for the state of Guanajuato, Mexico, where water tariffs were raised between 60-200% during the period 2000-2006 is presented. The additional revenues have allowed improvements in institutional and capacity building, improving the infrastructure, and as less subsidies are needed for the urban areas, more money was available for the rural settings. The Comisión Estatal del Estado de Guanajuato (State Water Commission for the State of Guanajuato) was able to accomplish this through a strong communication and transparency campaign.