The Human Right to drinking Water in Yucatán: Anthropological Considerations

Abstract

This essay begins with an outline of the growing worldwide problem of access to drinkable water. After some general considerations about the contribution of sociocultural anthropology to the reflection of human rights, the emergence of the idea of the human right to potable water and sanitation is described. The following sections identify the situation of this human right in Mexico and in Yucatan Peninsula. And, it ends with several proposals that place the technical issue within the framework of an option for a different civilizing model.