The Politics of Water: Urban Protest, Gender, and Power in Monterrey, Mexico (Pitt Latin American Series)

Monterrey is Mexico\u2019s second most important industrial city, emerging in this era of free trade as a cornerstone of Mexico\u2019s economic development. But development has been uneven and has taken a toll: As recently as the early 1980s, nearly a quarter of the city\u2019s almost three million inhabitants did not have running water in their homes. At the same time, heavy industry - especially steel, iron, chemical, and paper works - were major users of water in their production processes. Extensive industrialization coupled with a lack of infrastructure development astonishing in a major industrial city raises serious questions about the process of planning urban services in Mexico. Bennett uses the water crisis of the 1980s as a lens through which to reveal this planning process and the provision of public services in Monterrey. She finds three groups who were central to the evolution of the city\u2019s water system: federal and state government leaders, the regional private sector elite (the Grupo Monterrey), and women living in the low-income neighborhoods of the city. Bennett unravels the politics of water in Monterrey by following three threads of inquiry. First, she examines the water services themselves - what was built, when, why, and who paid for them. She then reveals the response of poor women to the water crisis, analyzing who participated in protests, the strategies they used, and how the government responded. And, finally, she considers the dynamics of planning water services for the private sector and the government in investment and management. In the end, Monterrey\u2019s water services improved because power relations shifted and because poor women in Monterrey used protests to make national news out of the city\u2019s water crisis. The Politics of Water makes a significant contribution to the emerging scholarship on regional politics in Mexico and to a deeper understanding of the Monterrey region in particular. Until recently, most scholarly writing on Mexico spoke of the national political system as a monolithic whole. Scholars such as Vivienne Bennett are now recognizing the power of local citizens and the significant differences among regions when it comes to politics, policy making, and governmental investment decisions.
ASIN: 0822956160
VSKU: BVV.0822956160.G
Condition: Good
Author/Artist:Bennett, Vivienne
Binding: Paperback
Note: Any images shown are stock photographs and product may differ from what is shown.
Condition Notes: The item shows wear from consistent use, but it remains in good condition and works perfectly. All pages and cover are intact including the dust cover, if applicable . Spine may show signs of wear. Pages may include limited notes and highlighting. May NOT include discs, access code or other supplemental materials.