Water injustice in Mexico: theories for analyzing the norm-practice gap

Abstract

In Mexico, the constitutional recognition of the human right to water in 2012 has not translated into effective access for broad sectors of the population, revealing a gap between the norm and institutional practice. The objective is to propose an integrated theoretical framework for analyzing the tensions between legal recognition and its territorial materialization, based on the epistemic premise of legal realism. The methodology corresponds to a systematic literature review, with a qualitative approach, non-experimental design, and explanatory scope, delimited to the Mexican water context (1990–2025) through thematic coding in specialized databases such as Web of Science, Scopus, SciELO, Redalyc, CLACSO, UNAM, and COLMEX. The analysis articulates eight theoretical perspectives: regulatory capture; distributive conflicts and the commons; normative coherence; the hydrosocial cycle; accumulation by dispossession and the production of space; territorial citizenship and environmental justice; implementation and normative gaps; and intersectional vulnerability with a gender approach. The main findings show that the concentration of 70% of water concessions in just 2% of users evidences institutionalized regulatory capture, and that the norm-practice gap responds to power configurations operating across three simultaneous dimensions. As an original contribution, the notion of triple normative coherence (vertical, horizontal, and scalar) is introduced to assess the transformative reach of reforms to the water regime. It is concluded that the effectiveness of the human right to water does not depend on its formal proclamation, but rather on the reconfiguration of institutional arrangements and power relations that determine its concrete territorial application.