Visiting Corrales, Zacatecas on Monday, President Felipe Calderon pledged 33.8 billion pesos to aid communities plagued by drought in northern Mexico.
Speaking in one of the worst affected areas, Calderon promised that nobody will “suffer or die” for lack of food or water.
“It is a matter that brings us together and involves us all, the federal government, local governments, municipal governments, all public authorities and, of course, the public. I think that in an emergency there is no room for political manipulation or opportunism, even in an election year,” he said, in an appeal for bipartisan cooperation.
Heading a meeting in Zacatecas, Calderon presented the Comprehensive Drought Program 2012, to which he committed the 33.8 billion pesos. The president also signed a decree to authorize the drilling of water wells for human consumption.
His proposal to dig wells drew criticism from environmental law expert Raquel Gutierrez Najera, who argued that over-exploiting water resources would lead to “environmental catastrophe in Mexico.”
Across the country more than 1,200 municipalities have suffered as the dry spell intensified toward the end of last year. According to a study by the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Rural Development, Fisheries and Food (SAGARPA), “during December just over half (of Mexico’s) land area, 54.6 percent, was affected by drought.”
The worst hit areas have been the central and northern states of Aguascalientes, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Durango, Guanajuato, Nuevo Leon, San Luis Potosi and Zacatecas. In particular, Aguascalientes and Durango recorded the least rainfall since 1941.
In Durango, 50,000 indigenous people, among them Huicholes, have been forced to leave their homes because of a lack of food and water. The Huicholes have also suffered harrasment from criminal gangs vying for control of Durango and Zacatecas.
Meanwhile, to abate hunger and unemployment among the indigenous population in Chihuahua, the state government has established a Temporary Employment Program to provide work for 7,000 Tarahumaras in conservation and reforestation projects.
Jalisco has also been affected by the lack of rain, but on a smaller scale than the aforementioned states. “Fortunately, Jalisco is not one of the states worst affected by drought,” said Jose Luis Luege Tamargo, chairman of the National Water Commission (Conagua). The 26 of Jalisco’s 125 municipalities that suffer from water shortages will receive part of the funds released by the federal government through its drought relief program.
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