Political water ecology: social metabolism, winners and losers in the dispute over the water of Santiago River, Jalisco, Mexico.

Abstract

The Santiago River is important for the development of Jalisco, around towns, industries and fields of cultivation were established, satisfying the water needs providing adequate subsistence environments. The water of the flow, its use is a natural resource to which its access is entitled and which must be cared for and conserved; but in the last decades its pollution has increased. While governance mechanisms are established to solve the problem and guarantee water access for all, although these mechanisms guarantee it, the same water quality is not guaranteed for everyone, that is, that activities are given priority; while some have abundant amounts of water and of good quality, there are others in which not only the water is not in sufficient quantity, but it is of poor quality.This represents a problem of water governance and of the mechanisms used since the extraction, uses, administration and distribution of the vital liquid. The objective is to demonstrate how social metabolism determines the social effects of the management model for the responsible use and use of water resources.The methodology collects historical data in order to find the relationship between the developments of societies (moving from traditional agro-production to agro-industry) with the problems, consequences and mechanisms used to solve them from the ecological economy approach, looking for answers to problems environmental issues that are presented today.