Energy extractivism and water dispossession by contamination: an essay of fracking in mexican legal order

Abstract

The article analyzes the extraction of hydrocarbons through fracking in Mexico. Energy extractivism is discussed as the hegemonic model of production and consumption of fossil fuels and, in particular, as a neoliberal prototype of energy management. The water-energy relationship is examined from a critical perspective, highlighting the granting of water rights for the stimulation of unconventional reservoirs. It is documented that the explicit regulation of fracking intervened in the allocation of hydraulic uses and the order of priority of uses. In any case, these issues sharpen competition for water on lands of collective social property. It is concluded that fracking constitutes a mechanism of water dispossession by contamination.