Water and Politics: Clientelism and Reform in Urban Mexico

Veronica Herrera, assistant professor of political science at the University of Connecticut, will present "Water and Politics: Clientelism and Reform in Urban Mexico," from 10-11:30 a.m. on Tuesday, April 18.

Most of the world's population lives in cities in developing countries, where access to quality water services is either inadequate or sorely missing. The problem is neither technical nor financial, it's political: politicians fail to provide reliable and high quality public services because they often benefit politically from manipulating water service for electoral gain. Elected officials often exchange water service for the vote, and reward political allies or punish political enemies by manipulating access to this increasingly scarce, and therefore increasingly politically valuable, resource. Herrera will present findings from her new book, Water and Politics, which is based on extensive field research in eight Mexican cities. She will discuss how broad based coalitional support (including middle-class and industrial elites) played an important role in generating pressure for public service reforms.

This talk is part of the Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions and the University Program in Environmental Policy seminar series featuring leading experts discussing a variety of pressing environmentally focused topics.