Breathe
By Cecily Fasanella
The 2024 presidential elections are approaching in Mexico and the United States. The leading candidates from both countries have already discussed several key issues for the bilateral relationship, including trade, security and migration. However, there is one issue that affects citizens and businesses in both countries, especially those located along the border, that they have yet to comprehensively address: bilateral water policy.
For 80 years, the 1944 International Waters Treaty between Mexico and the U.S. has governed the transfer of water between two shared rivers, the Colorado and the Rio Grande. Every five years, the U.S.-Mexico International Boundary and Water Commission (CILA), a binational organization of commissioners, engineers, legal advisors and foreign secretaries, oversees the transfer of billions of cubic meters of water. While many transfers have been predictable and routine, climate change and increased droughts have put a strain on the agreement.
The current cycle ends in 2025. It is time to seriously address binational water policy and its long-term management.
