Mexico's Congress Rejects PRI Water Law Reform Amid Indigenous Water Rights Effort

On a 23‑to‑5 vote, the Chamber of Deputies' Water Resources, Potable Water and Sanitation Committee, led by deputy Elizabeth Cervantes de la Cruz (Morena), dismissed a PRI‑backed amendment to the National Water Law, stating the proposed changes were already incorporated in recent hydraulic reforms. The rejected initiative sought to expand water‑rights transmission, allow provisional third‑party use of concessioned water, and add PRI legislators to the Water Consultative Council.

Separately, a coalition of civil‑society groups organized a virtual workshop to draft a normative chapter on water rights for Indigenous peoples and Afro‑Mexican communities. The event aims to influence the forthcoming General Law on Indigenous and Afro‑Mexican Rights and the new General Water Law, ensuring recognition, protection, and autonomous management of water resources for these groups.