|
Leading lawmaker says Mexico has no water
to give to the U.S. May 18, 2002 TheNewsMexico.com A leading lawmaker from President Vicente Fox's party told U.S. legislators on Friday that Mexico has no water to give its northern neighbor, Reforma daily reported. Mexican and U.S. lawmakers are meeting in the central state of Guanajuato to talk about bilateral issues. One of the most sensitive topics is the demand of the U.S. government that Mexico live up to the terms of a 1944 water treaty, according to which Mexico supplies the U.S. with 500,000 cubic meters of water annually from the delta of the Rio Grande River - known as the Rio Bravo in Mexico. "Mexico is aware of its responsibilities but no one is obligated to do the impossible," said Felipe Calderon, the coordinator of the National Action Party in the Chamber of Deputies. Calderon said Mexico, which has several regions experiencing a severe drought, cannot afford to give the U.S. water it does not even have for its own citizens. Northern border towns are in a state of alert due to the drought. Calderon's statement seemed to undercut President Fox's promise on Wednesday, in which he said he would come up with a plan within 15 days to pay off Mexico's water debts to the U.S. The U.S. has been applying political pressure on the Mexican government to resolve the problem, which, it says, has caused heavy economic losses. "The Texas governor says his state is losing more than one billion dollars and has lost more than 45,000 jobs," U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Jeffrey Davidow told Reforma. But Calderon said instead of blaming the other country, it would be more constructive to find a mutually beneficial solution. "Let's work together to find a way to better preserve our natural resources before starting to fight over water that doesn't exist," he said. © Copyright 2002 TheNewsMexico.com http://www.thenewsmexico.com/noticia.asp?id=25934
In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, any copyrighted work in this message is distributed under fair use without profit or payment for non-profit research and educational purposes only. [Ref. http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml] |