Mexico struggles with US water debt, suggests UN audit
MEXICO CITY (AP) — As Mexico struggles to pay a water debt to the United States, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said Thursday he might personally appeal to President Donald Trump for clemency, or invite United Nations experts to audit water payments.
Mexico has fallen behind in the amount of water it must send north from its dams under a 1944 treaty, and time is running out to make up the shortfall by the Oct. 24 deadline. But farmers in the northern state of Chihuahua want the water for their own crops.
The water treaty has become a burning political issue in northern Mexico, with conspiracy theories and violent protests springing up.
López Obrador has advocated paying the debt, noting that Mexico receives four times more water under the treaty from the Colorado River than it contributes in the Rio Grande area. He claims Mexico has enough water in dams to supply local farmers and repay the debt, which built up over a number of years.
Read more: https://www.lmtonline.com/news/article/Mexico-struggles-with-US-water-debt-suggests-UN-15541739.php
(Laredo Morning Times)
