European influence on water management in the Valley of Mexico

Abstract

The Valley of Mexico’s historical susceptibility to flooding underwent a significant environmental transformation during the Spanish colonization, when Spaniards, influenced by their Roman and Muslim heritage, built extensive hydraulic works including the <i>Desagüe</i>, exerting their control over the Indigenous population. This undertaking led to the desiccation of the Valley and the exploitation of Indigenous labour. With the belief that stagnant water caused miasmas, these efforts persisted throughout the nineteenth century in the Gran Canal waterwork, concluded in 1900 under President Porfirio Díaz. European scientific perspectives, including those of Alexander von Humboldt and Jean André Poumarède, played an influential role in water management policy decisions. This thesis examines how European views shaped water management in central Mexico with a long-lasting effect on its modern-day society and environment. The basin’s desiccation continues to pose an array of challenges in Mexico City, including subsidence, drainage and water supply inefficiency, social inequality, and flooding.