Water war: Mexican farmers take over Boquilla Dam

[Winehole23]

Since February, when federal forces first occupied the dam to ensure water deliveries to the United States continued, activists in Chihuahua have burned government buildings, destroyed cars and briefly held a group of politicians hostage. For weeks, they’ve blocked a major railroad used to ferry industrial goods between Mexico and the United States.


Their revolt has alarmed farmers and politicians in Texas. Greg Abbott, the state’s Republican governor, appealed to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo last month, demanding that he persuade Mexico to deliver the water by the deadline next week, or risk inflicting pain on American farmers.


Mexico’s president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who has repeatedly bent to President Trump’s demands on immigration, has vowed that his country will make good on its water obligations to the United States — whether the state of Chihuahua likes it or not.


He sent hundreds of members of the National Guard (https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/28/world/americas/mexico-amlo-national-guard.html) to protect Chihuahua’s dams, and his government temporarily froze bank accounts belonging to the city where many of the protesters live.


For farmers, the government’s stance is a betrayal.


Mr. Velderrain, 42, said he never saw himself as the type of person who would lead hundreds over a hill to overwhelm a group of soldiers protecting a cache of automatic weapons. But there he was in a video posted on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/636108828/posts/10158874186513829/?extid=ZLDgI9A9xYWEBBfm&d=w), escorting a Mexican general out of the Boquilla Dam on the day he led the takeover.


Surprised and heavily outnumbered, the National Guard quickly surrendered. Later that day, one protester was shot and killed by the National Guard.


https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/14/world/americas/mexico-water-boquilla-dam.html

[Winehole23]

“She had so many plans,” said Ms. Silva’s mother, Justina Zamarripa, tears falling into the creases of her cheeks.

The National Guard shot Ms. Silva several times in the back through the window of her husband’s truck. He was wounded but survived.

“She was defending what belongs to us,” said her father, José Luis Silva.

[DMC]

oh no. Not the Boquilla

[Winehole23]

oh no. Not the BoquillaGotta admit, my local and regional interest threads are very thinly subscribed.

[Winehole23]

(overstatement posing as understatement)

[SnakeBoy]

So we're getting our water right?

[Winehole23]

So we're getting our water right?My impression is that certain Mexican cities will donate municipal water to bridge the river gap, with promised US reciprocation to said Mexican cities in the future.

[SnakeBoy]

My impression is that certain Mexican cities will donate municipal water to bridge the river gap, with promised US reciprocation to said Mexican cities in the future.

I was just being a smart ass tbh.

Found this well written article on the topic though
https://www.texasmonthly.com/news/water-farmers-rio-grande-valley-mexico/

[Winehole23]

I was just being a smart ass tbh.

Found this well written article on the topic though
https://www.texasmonthly.com/news/water-farmers-rio-grande-valley-mexico/Sounds like it's dry on their side too. With no enforcement mechanism, it's almost pure diplomacy.

(Tan lejos de Dios, tan cercana...)

[boutons_deux]

More b/g, from Feb 2020

Mexico owes water to the US, and their farmers are fighting to keep it that way

https://bigbendsentinel.com/2020/02/12/mexico-owes-water-to-the-us-and-their-farmers-are-fighting-to-keep-it-that-way/

[Spurtacular]

Gotta admit, my local and regional interest threads are very thinly subscribed.

You're not a very good salesman, tbh.

[boutons_deux]

My impression is that certain Mexican cities will donate municipal water to bridge the river gap, with promised US reciprocation to said Mexican cities in the future.

the problem is that USA allows MX water from the Colorado river out west

which is 100s of miles from farmers who are irrigated by the Boquilla dam to the east.

[boutons_deux]

Gotta admit, my local and regional interest threads are very thinly subscribed.

fuck 'em, the rightwingnutjobs are too stupid, too ignorant, too unimaginative, close minded to give the tiniest shit about anything beyond the end of their noses.

AGW is desiccating the land. Water wars will become shooting wars.

[Winehole23]

You're not a very good salesman, tbh.Thank you for your contribution to this thread. :tu

[Spurtacular]

Thank you for your contribution to this thread. :tu

It's somewhat constructive criticism. Would you rather not know wherein your failings lay?

[Winehole23]

It's somewhat constructive criticism. Would you rather not know wherein your failings lay?Please go on, I'm all ears.

[Spurtacular]

Please go on, I'm all ears.

You need a hook or at least to succinctly state why you give a f*ck.
Short of that, point out what's interesting about it beyond it being copy pasta.

[Winehole23]

You need a hook or at least to succinctly state why you give a f*ck.
Short of that, point out what's interesting about it beyond it being copy pasta.Water politics isn't sexy, I get that.

It's national boundary related, one would think there are a lot of people interested in that right now, but no, there aren't. Federal property was taken over by farmers. There was a dramatic police shooting, some would consider that a hot button issue; same song, second verse, only a few people care and that's ok.

(One might say I'm coming to terms.)

[Spurtacular]

Water politics isn't sexy, I get that.

It's national boundary related, one would think there are a lot of people interested in that right now, but no, there aren't. Federal property was taken over by farmers. There was a dramatic police shooting, some would consider that a hot button issue; same song, second verse, only a few people care and that's ok.

(One might say I'm coming to terms.)

You're getting closer to making the sale.

[SnakeBoy]

Sounds like it's dry on their side too. With no enforcement mechanism, it's almost pure diplomacy.

(Tan lejos de Dios, tan cercana...)

They owe us water we need to turn our desert into farmland but they used it to turn their desert into farmland and all the tropical systems that would solve the issue keep going east.

[SnakeBoy]

It pales in comparison to the water politics of the middle east

[RandomGuy]

It pales in comparison to the water politics of the middle east

Wait for another decade of man-made climate change to keep heating that area of the world into uninhabitability.

Be bloody ironic that the CO2 emissions they benefitted from so richly make their country into a hell-hole.

[boutons_deux]

NOAA Predicts Droughts Gripping Nearly Half of Continental U.S. Will Intensify This Winter

The agency expects the South and Southwest will be warmer and drier than usual in the coming months,

offering no relief to the already parched regions

https://thumbs-prod.si-cdn.com/7Izjfh5c6dA7GPXmtWOvykhWpkA=/800x600/filters:no_upscale():focal(383x206:384x207)/https://public-media.si-cdn.com/filer/66/48/6648c541-c3fa-42af-8ba5-6c674a514d8e/74145.png

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/noaa-predicts-droughts-gripping-nearly-half-continental-us-will-intensify-180976079

reduced snow pak, reduced Colorado river water to MX