Politicians hold water concessions for 6.2 million cubic meters

At least 31 political figures from the last seven years hold water concessions in their names, according to a review of the Public Registry of Water Rights. Together, these individuals have permission to use more than 6.2 million cubic meters of water per year, equivalent to 2,511 Olympic swimming pools.

Those who concentrate the largest volumes of concessions are Senator Jorge Carlos Ramírez Marín, followed by Deputy Olga Sánchez Cordero and former head of the Office of the Presidency, Alfonso Romo Garza. Other public servants with concessions in their names include Supreme Court Minister and former legal advisor to the Executive, María Estela Ríos González, as well as the governor of Tamaulipas, Américo Villarreal.

New Water Legislation

Last Thursday, December 4, the General Water Law was issued and the National Water Law was reformed. The legislation occurred amid controversy, as farmers and agricultural workers from Baja California, Chihuahua, Guanajuato, and other states, demonstrated to prevent its approval without success.

The new legislation proposes changes to the concession model, prohibiting transfers between private parties and establishing new rules from the National Water Commission (Conagua), such as the reallocation of volumes when there are changes in land ownership or inheritance.

A specialist with experience in Conagua’s work, who asked not to reveal their name, warned that the reforms give greater control to the State over the resource and there could be opacity in the reallocation of concession titles.

The discussion among legislators to approve the changes to the law escalated into an exchange of accusations between various factions, who pointed fingers at each other for the possession of water concessions among their members. However, according to the review, politicians from practically all current parties have at least one valid water concession.

From Judicial Power to State Governors

Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation (SCJN) Minister María Estela Ríos González has a concession for 120,000 cubic meters of water in the municipality of Dolores Hidalgo, Guanajuato, for agricultural use.

The title was registered on August 26, 2019, the year Ríos González was director general of Rural Property Ordering at the Secretariat of Agrarian, Territorial and Urban Development (Sedatu).

Ríos González responded in writing to this newspaper that the concession in her name is used “strictly for agricultural use” and that she will comply with what is established in the law after the changes introduced by the reform to the National Water Law.

Jorge Carlos Ramírez Marín, senator of the Green Ecologist Party of Mexico (PVEM), is the politician with the largest volume of water concessioned in his name, as he holds three titles in Yucatán for a total of 1,402,011 cubic meters annually. One was registered in 2003 and the remaining two in 2014.

In an interview, the legislator stated that the water is destined for irrigation at his ranch “Tierra de osos,” located in the Motul commissary, “but I haven’t had animals for a long time, so it’s hardly irrigated,” he detailed.

In his last four asset declarations, the senator did not register the ranch or any real estate in his name; however, in his 2015 declaration, when he was still head of Sedatu, he noted ownership of three houses, an apartment, and a plot of land. Regarding this, Ramírez Marín explained that in his declarations his property is not registered as a single ranch, but as several plots.

“The fact that I have concessions means that I am legal, the shameful and serious thing would be to use the water and not report it. Besides, it’s not the same to have the resource in Yucatán as in the north of the country, where having water is often a matter of life or death,” he added.

The governor of Tamaulipas, Américo Villarreal Anaya, concentrates 381,951 cubic meters of water in seven concessions for agricultural and livestock uses, registered between 1998 and 2025; five are located in the state he governs and two more in Guanajuato.

The governor has spoken out against the privatization of drinking water. Last March, during the Third State Water Forum 2025, he stated that the “privatizing optic must be ended,” and that “the waters truly belong to the nation and serve to do justice.”

Who also holds concessions in the state he governs is the governor of Durango, Esteban Alejandro Villegas Villarreal, with two titles registered in 2023 and 2024, when he had already assumed office, for a total of 69,500 cubic meters of water per year. David Monreal, governor of Zacatecas, also has a concession in his state, as does Manolo Jiménez Salinas, governor of Coahuila.

Former Officials Also Hold Concessions

Former Secretary of the Interior and current federal deputy, Olga Sánchez Cordero, has access to 1,077,136 cubic meters of water per year, distributed in four concessions registered in Nuevo León since the late nineties.

In 2022, during a severe drought faced by the state, the legislator shared a post on “X” in which she clarified that, for generations, her family has been dedicated to agriculture, which is why they know “the value of water, and we don’t abuse it, on the contrary, we take care of it, especially in the north.”

Alfonso Romo, former head of the Office of the Presidency during the administration of Andrés Manuel López Obrador, maintains the title of a concession for 600,000 cubic meters of water annually, in Nuevo León. In 2020, the also businessman responded that he “would not resign” from his position to be investigated, after a CONNECTAS report revealed that Enerall, the company founded by Romo, has access to 16.8 million cubic meters of water in 23 concessions, located in Yucatán.

Regarding this, former president López Obrador stated that there would be no impunity, and tasked the secretariats of environment and public administration to investigate the damages and implement sanctions if necessary. Romo resigned from the head of the presidential office in 2020.

Jaime Rodríguez Calderón, “El Bronco,” former governor of Nuevo León, can exploit up to 184,000 cubic meters of water thanks to two concessions. Likewise, Rutilio Cruz Escandón, former governor of Chiapas and current consul general of Mexico in Miami, has access to 198,806 cubic meters in the state he governed.

Legislators of All Colors with Access to Water

Deputies and senators with valid concessions actively participated in the discussion and definition of the Water Law. Among those who voted in favor are the Morena members José Javier Aguirre Gallardo, Ricardo Sheffield Padilla and Óscar Cantón Zetina, all with water titles for different uses.

Former governor of Guanajuato and current PAN senator Miguel Márquez Márquez holds three concessions for 249,365 cubic meters of water, while deputy Mario Calzada Mercado, of the PRI, has a concession for 240,000 cubic meters.

Senator Olga Patricia Sosa Ruíz, of Morena, appears in Conagua’s records with two concessions for 640,000 cubic meters for agricultural use. However, she assured EL UNIVERSAL that she no longer holds the titles, as the linked property was sold in 2023. The legislator voted in favor of the water reforms.

Legislators from the PRI and PAN such as Juan Antonio Martín del Campo and Francisco Javier Ramírez Acuña voted against and also appear as concessionaires.

PRI deputy Hugo Eduardo Gutiérrez Arroyo holds a concession in Campeche, but clarified to this newspaper that his intention is to cancel the title, as he claims he has never used the water resource because it was destined for an agricultural project he could no longer carry out.

For this article, the position of the political figures with concessions in their names was requested. Deputies Leoncio Alfonso Morán Sánchez, María del Rosario Guzmán Avilés, José Narro Céspedes assured that their titles are within the law, as they were duly registered and issued in accordance with the current legal framework. They added that they will adhere to the new changes in laws related to water.