La construction sociale du statut juridique de l’eau : le cas du Québec et du Mexique
Water has been considered for a long time as a common good not susceptible to appropriation and accessible to all. Nowadays, however, in front of the uneven distribution of water on the planet, the constant increase of the population and the increase of water uses which pulls the overexploitation and the pollution of water resources, water takes a new value. Indeed, it becomes more and more a strategic, political and commercial issue. Consequently, the redefining of legal status of water becomes an important object of debate. This is above all a rhetoric debate and an ideological "battle" between groups who support different approaches. Indeed, these ideologies are the fruit of different speeches conceived by social actors who have contrary interests and ideologies and that aim at having the monopoly of the new reality and creating the new law.  There are two important approaches which are in confrontation. The first one, conceive water as an economic good, and considers that to avoid problems of wasting and pollution, water must be subjected to the laws of supply and demand. The second conceive water as a common good and supports that the value of a resource so vital as water cannot be established by the laws of the market, because this alternative does not allow to assure access to water to the most deprived of the society. This approach advocates the recognition of water as a human right.  Our thesis aims at finding how the choice of the legal status of water is made in Quebec and in Mexico. This question will be treated according to a constructivist perspective according to which the legal status of water would be a "constructed" reality and, thus, the new law would be the result of fights, oppositions and also, compromises between the involved social actors.  Our analysis covers Quebec and Mexico. In fact, those are territories economically integrated by NAFTA where we observe important variations in terms of resources, uses and consumption of water. In Quebec, we analyze the representations of different actors during the Consultation on Water Management held in 1999, and more particularly the speeches concerning the status of water, the privatization of water services and the bulk water exports. In Mexico, we analyze the representations of social actors surrounding the adoption of the National Water Law of 1992, and more particularly the questions concerning the symbolism of water. Now, we found that the result of these constructions within these territories is completely different. In Quebec, the status of water as a common good has been confirmed, whereas in Mexico, it is rather the symbolism of water as an economic good which was adopted in the new Mexican legislation.
Water law Water management in Mexico Constructivism Water management in Quebec Environment Common good Economic good Water management Water status Water exports