Human right to water and sanitation
a critical view towards the fulfillment of Sustainable Development Objectives
The human right to water and sanitation, recognized by the UN since 2010, faces profound contradictions in Mexico between its normative proclamation and its effective guarantee. Although it is enshrined in the 4th constitutional article and in international treaties, the reality shows structural inequalities in access, mainly in rural, indigenous and urban periphery communities. This gap reveals water management subordinated to economic interests and marked by a technocratic and extractive model. The lack of infrastructure, the deterioration of water sources and the privatization of resources aggravate a crisis that affects the environment and becomes a systematic vulnerability of human rights. From a critical legal perspective, water must be understood on the ground as a natural resource, as well as a common one, whose democratic and sustainable management is a condition for socio-environmental justice. This article examines the tensions between the legal framework and the territorial realities that impede the full enjoyment of this right.
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