Contested Realities: The Intersection Between Water Management for Hydroelectricity and Food Production in Tabasco, Mexico

Abstract

Water development projects to manage the country's water reserves for flood control, agriculture and energy production have always been part of the Mexican federal government's politics. In southeastern Mexico these projects have been proposed to promote ‘modernization’ in a region characterized by a high level of social marginalization. A prime example of these projects is the Plan Chontalpa (referred to from here on as the Plan), a large-scale, state-led development initiative proposed by the federal government to manage the Grijalva River basin and promote industrial agricultural production and social development in Tabasco (Figure 1). Plan Chontalpa was meant to be a model for development in humid tropical regions. However, it fell short of its original goals of promoting hydroelectricity generation and agricultural production. Plan Chontalpa has been changing through the years and most recently is promoting a "green" development following the guidelines of the Puebla-Panama Plan, a regional development initiative impacting all Mexican states located south of Puebla and all the Central American countries up to Panama.