MEXICO: City on a Lake, Running Dry

Abstract: 

The documentary “H20mx” is a call to action as Mexico City’s more than 8 million inhabitants face a dire water crisis.

If Mexico City’s sewer reflects its conscience, then citizens of the mega-metropolis have little ground for pride. The award-winning documentary “H2Omx” uses powerful imagery to tell the story of Mexico City’s fraught water system. Green pipes snaking through the nation’s capital and delivering water to millions of people but failing to reach those living in impoverished localities. Post-apocalyptic scenes of trash clogging major river systems and toxic foam from chemical detergents floating through the air like snow, silently poisoning entire communities. Thousands of acres of land irrigated with Aguas Negras — black waters flowing from Mexico City’s sewers — destined to crops for human consumption. “H2Omx” depicts natural resource destruction on a scale so large that it threatens not only the livelihoods of millions of people but also the identity of the city itself.

Author: 
Ignacio Camacho
Femke Oldham
Publication date: 
January 13, 2015
Publication type: 
Berkeley Review of Latin American Studies Article