CES4E1-Water inequality in Mexico

Opening this season, Canadian Mexican JP Mathias teaches how if you follow the water, you can begin to understand abstract concepts such as development/underdevelopment or how political processes affect various groups differently within a community in a tangible way. Drawing from his educational background and from his work with different organizations, he discusses and questions water management in Indigenous territories (Pueblos Originarios) in Mexico illustrating how power relations and political processes affect marginalized communities by various stakeholders in the water question. He suggests that better education can potentially raise awareness of water inequalities, whether in Mexico or here in Canada, allowing for communities to imagine a new narrative that ensures equal access for all.

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Biography

Jon Paul Mathias is a PhD student in Human Geography at the University of Toronto. His research focuses on the historical constitution of racial disparities in access to water in Mexico City. He has an MA in Political Science from the University of Toronto and a BA in International Relations from the Universidad Iberoamericana. He has worked as a researcher for the Instituto Nacional de Estadísticas y Geografía (INEGI) and the Organización de Estados Iberoamericanos (OEI), both in Mexico City where he is originally from.
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*Suggested citation*
Ortega, Y. (Producer). (2020, August 5). CES4E1 – Water Inequality in Mexico. https://soundcloud.com/chasingencounters/ce-s4e1-water-inequality-in-mexico

*Sources*
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Radcliffe, S. A. (2017). Decolonising geographical knowledges. Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers, 42(3), 329–333. https://doi.org/10.1111/tran.12195

Swyngedouw, E., Kaïka, M., & Castro, E. (2002). Urban water: A political-ecology perspective. Built Environment, 28(2), 124–137. https://doi.org/10.2307/23288796

Watts, M. (2003). Development and Governmentality. Singapore Journal of Tropical Geography, 24(1), 6–34. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315258027-26

Vitz, M. (2018). A City on a Lake: Urban Political Ecology and the Growth of Mexico City. Durham and London: Duke University Press. https://bit.ly/2EY0rJU