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Cases / Water use · Mexico · 1995–2026

Mexico water concessions concentration

Nature's voice · report
No measurement of the harm done to me here is on record.
Did nature suffer? Not measured.
Not on record
  • The record does not name which of my species, waters, soils or forests were harmed.
What the record lacks: 1 self-reported only · 1 not measured · 1 disputed · 1 unclear See the gaps

A study by IBERO, reported by the newspaper Crónica in August 2026, found that fewer than 1% of Mexico's water-concession holders hold about one-fifth of the water under concession.

Under 1%Share of concession holders holding about one-fifth of concessioned water
IBERO study as reported by Crónica, August 2026.

Status As of August 2026: the IBERO finding on concentration was reported by Crónica; no response from Conagua is on record.

What?
A small share of holders controls about one-fifth of the water under concession in Mexico, according to an IBERO study. Cronica
Where?
Mexico; cases cited in Monterrey and Chiapas. Cronica
When?
Concessions reported to have risen between 1995 and 2019; the finding reported in August 2026. Cronica
Who?
Gained
  • Concession holders at the top of the distribution — Fewer than 1% of holders hold about one-fifth of the concessioned water. Cronica
Lost
None on record
Harmed
None on record
Why?
The sources reviewed do not state a reason for the concentration.
How?
Through water concessions granted by Conagua; the record gives their length as 5 to 30 years.
6 of 6 questions answered from the record

What happened

The record, in order.

On 3 August 2026 the newspaper Crónica reported on a study by IBERO of Mexico's water-concession records. According to the report, fewer than 1% of concession holders hold about one-fifth of the water under concession. The article's headline refers to anomalies in the registries and to hoarding that depletes aquifers.

Figures attributed to the national water authority Conagua, as cited in a piece from the UNAM Institute of Economic Research, put the average cost of tap water at 2 centavos a litre and bottled water at 7.50 to 8.25 pesos a litre. The same piece, titled as an account of the business of extracting water and selling it up to 494 times dearer, stated that water concessions rose by 3,191% between 1995 and 2019.

In the 2022 water crisis in Monterrey, Expansión reported that Heineken held concessions for more than 143 million cubic metres of water, and that AMLO, as the report calls the president, asked for its production to be stopped. The industry chamber CAINTRA said industry accounted for 4% of water use in the area and agriculture for 71%.

A document in the Mexican Senate gazette of 3 June 2020 records a concession of about 420,000 cubic metres a year in Chiapas. A separate summary in the record states that a bottler was given a concession in a Chiapas city short of water.

  1. 1995Start of the period over which concessions are reported to have risen by 3,191% (to 2019)
  2. 20203 June: Senate gazette document records a concession of about 420,000 m3 a year in Chiapas
  3. 2022August: Expansión reports Heineken's concessions of more than 143 million m3 during the Monterrey crisis
  4. 20263 August: Crónica reports the IBERO finding on concentration of concessions

What was said

Claims, in the words of those who made them.

Where accounts differ

Each party's account, side by side, with its source. The record does not settle these points; it shows them.

Did brewers leave Monterrey without water in the 2022 crisis?
Press and investigations
Expansión

Reported that Heineken held concessions for more than 143 million m3 of water and that AMLO asked for its production to be stopped.

Expansion
Communities and civil society
CAINTRA (industry chamber)

Industry accounted for 4% of water use and agriculture for 71%.

How it looked

What was shown, beside what was recorded.

Shown

    Recorded

    • Fewer than 1% of concession holders hold about one-fifth of the concessioned water (IBERO study, via Crónica).
      Cronica
    • Conagua figures: tap water about 2 centavos a litre on average; bottled water 7.50 to 8.25 pesos a litre; concessions up 3,191% in 1995-2019.
      UNAM Instituto de Investigaciones Economicas
    • Heineken held concessions for more than 143 million m3 during the Monterrey crisis.
      Expansion
    • Chiapas: concession of about 420,000 m3 a year.
      Mexican Senate

    In court and with insurers

    Every proceeding and every insurer decision on record.

    Lawsuits and rulings

    No court case on record. No court has ruled on this case.

    Insurers

    No insurer decision on record.

    What nature saw

    Outcomes measured on the ground, and nature's note.

    Nature's report opens this page. Below: further outcomes measured on the ground.

    Concession holders holding about one-fifth of concessioned water
    Under 1%
    IBERO study via Crónica, 2026
    Growth in concessions
    3,191%
    1995-2019 (Conagua figure, via UNAM IIEc)
    Aquifer condition
    Described as depleted
    Crónica headline; no figure in the sources reviewed

    What we don't know

    Undisclosed, unproven, untried: recorded as data.

    Nature

    • Not measured Harm to nature: The record holds no measurement of harm to nature.

    Accounts

    • Disputed Did brewers leave Monterrey without water in the 2022 crisis?

    Record

    • Self-reported only The sources reviewed do not give the IBERO study's own figures for aquifer depletion.
    • Unclear Whether the bottler or other holders named in secondary summaries hold concessions in the top fraction is not stated.

    Did the harm stop?

    Not on record in the sources reviewed.

    Who paid?

    The sources reviewed do not quantify a cost borne by a named party.

    Sources

    Voices on record: — Company or project✓ Government and regulators— Courts✓ Press and investigations— Communities and civil society✓ Researchers

    Government and regulators

    Press and investigations

    Researchers

    1. El meganegocio de extraer agua y venderla hasta 494 veces mas cara
      UNAM Instituto de Investigaciones Economicas ·

    Connected cases

    Related matters, and cases linked to this one through the same organisations, with the role each played in both.
    Terms used on this page

    Science and environment

    Groundwater
    Water held underground in soil and rock, drawn through wells.
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