María De Lourdes Amaya Ventura, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana, Cuajimalpa, Estudios Institucionales, lourdes.amaya70@gmail.com
Abstract.
The decentralized policy adopted in Mexico for water management in the early nineties included a reform of the normative framework and the modification of the organizational structure surrounding water issues. However, after fifteen years of implementation of this policy, water problems persist and even seem to have increased. We consider that the institutional framework redefinition was not completely achieved, mainly because some policy measures were not included in the decentralized policy design, and because it did not consider important characteristics of the social environment in which it would be applied. Some of the specific topics discussed are the scope of this institutional framework and the failures in some institutional arrangements related to incentives and restrictions for participants in local management systems. The analysis is developed through both Williamson's and Ostrom's theoretical approaches, recovering empirical evidence from the author's research work.
Key words: Decentralization of water management, Common Pool Resources, Mexico.