Dear migrant friends:

My commitment as a migrant legislator is to be accountable to those who, like me, live and work outside of Mexico, and who, through their efforts, strengthen the U.S. and Mexican economies by sending billions of dollars in remittances. To all of you, I send my warmest greetings from this column. I want to inform you that, in recent days, we approved—by majority vote—the General Water Law, together with my fellow Morena party representatives. This new legislation guarantees the human right to water: its physical access, its availability, its quality, and its supply for every Mexican man and woman, regardless of which state they live in. With this law, the possibility of bequeathing water concessions to private individuals is eliminated, and the hoarding of large volumes of water by a few farmers or so-called farmers is prevented. Meanwhile, the opposition, comprised of the PRI and PAN (PRIAN), following the orders of their leaders, decided to vote against the initiative. As is well known, the reform affects the interests of former presidents of the Republic such as Carlos Salinas de Gortari and Vicente Fox Quezada, identified as having hoarded water without paying the corresponding fees. The same occurs with various companies, including Coca-Cola and Lala, and sectors such as tourism and mining, which historically have not paid nearly 80% of the fees for industrial water use and services, despite the enormous quantity of cubic meters they extract of this precious resource. Today, these same voices, the corporate media, and the opposition political parties seeking to manipulate reality claim that this law will "take water away from Mexicans," spreading false information to confuse the population. Let us not forget that it was these figures during the neoliberal era (1982-2018) who turned water into a private business. It was precisely during the six-year term of Salinas de Gortari (1988-1994) that the National Water Law in Mexico was modified, under Article 27 of the Constitution, to allow the granting, purchase, sale, and privatization of water rights, transforming this vital resource into a commodity.This situation allowed for hoarding in the hands of a few and scarcity for the majority of users.

With this new legislation, Morena guarantees that water belongs to everyone and is for everyone, and that the State—as established by the Constitution—is solely responsible for its administration. This initiative was proposed by our president, Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo, in accordance with the mandate of the people.

I thank La Opinion for providing me with this space to share with immigrants the legislative work we carry out in the Chamber of Deputies of the Congress of the Union in Mexico.

The purpose of this column is to inform all Mexicans residing in the United States about the reality we live in and the changes we are working on in our country for a better Mexico for all, both within and beyond its borders.

Keep your spirits up, fellow migrants!

(*) Cheto Polanco has been a migrant deputy for Morena since 1924.