Mexico and the United States regulate their liquid resources through the Water Treaty, an agreement reached in 1944. Under the parameters of the treaty, Mexico is indebted to the United States for failing to meet a quota it was supposed to deliver by October of this year.
Sheinbaum promised to keep his promises 249 million cubic meters in Texas from December 15 and before January 31. This is the amount requested by the White House for this first delivery.
Mexico’s total water debt is 986 million cubic meters, which Trump said “should be delivered a little later”without saying when.
Sheinbaum said this week he would seek an agreement with the United States on compliance with the Water Treaty, but warned that it would not jeopardize supplies for human consumption. Words which now remain doubtful.
Since his return to the Oval Office, Trump forced Mexico to change its air policyto toughen its security strategy against organized crime, impose customs tariffs on China, contain migratory waves so that they do not reach the border and now the water debt.
In this scenario, the only issue Sheinbaum remains firm on for now is preventing the United States from sending troops into Mexican territory to combat drug trafficking.
The water decision concerns Mexico’s dams in the north of the country, mainly two, the El Cuchillo Dam, in the state of Nuevo León, and the Gómez Dam, in Tamaulipas. The first is the water source for the city of Monterrey and the second is used for agricultural purposes.
The announcement of the agreement was made by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (SRE) of Mexico and the United States Department of Agriculture.
“Mexico intends to supply 249 million cubic meters of water to the United States, with deliveries expected to begin the week of December 15,” the agreement states.
“The two governments are in negotiations and intend to finalize the plan by January 31, 2026,” he adds.
Jorge Esteve Recolons, president of Mexico’s National Agricultural Council, said the U.S. position was for the moment insensitive to the Mexican countryside, facing a crisis where 20% of the agricultural area has been shut down due, among other factors, to lack of water.
“These water agreements are multi-year, they have to do with the fact that the climate is unpredictable, because sometimes it generates, it’s the same as agriculture, you have good years and not so good years, well it’s the same with water so what is being asked for is from a position of power because the Americans are the most powerful country in the world, but they need a little sensitivity to what climate change is,” he indicated.
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