This article addresses three interconnected questions related to Mexico’s irrigation management transfer program. These are the political construction of the management transfer policy, the political process of generating consent for the program among water users in irrigation districts, and the view of water rights as a commodity and the role of the judicial system in the resolution of water disputes. It illustrates that the interconnectedness among the actions before, during, and after legislation render meaningless the distinction between politics, policymaking, and implementation.
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