Mexico's Senate began urgent debate on Thursday on the new General Water Law, approved hours earlier by the Chamber of Deputies without going through committees. Farmers protest outside Congress and threaten to block Mexico City and other states if their demands are unmet. Morena lawmakers defend President Claudia Sheinbaum's initiative, while opposition criticizes the rushed process.
The Chamber of Deputies approved on Thursday, December 4, 2025, in general and particular, the bill reforming the National Waters Law with 324 votes in favor, 118 against, and two abstentions, after more than 24 hours of debate. The bill was sent directly to the Senate, where the majority of Morena, PT, and PVEM approved with 83 votes in favor and 27 against considering it an 'urgent resolution,' omitting the first reading and committee procedures, as confirmed by Senate Steering Committee President Laura Itzel Castillo.
In the Senate plenary, during the debate, PAN lawmaker Ricardo Anaya accused Morena of lying about farmer support and pointed to protests with tractors surrounding the Chamber and blockades of bridges to the United States. 'Don't lie; if not, then why are the bridges to the US taken?, why is the Chamber surrounded by tractors?, why are the farmers unhappy? There's one thing that's not acceptable here and that's lying,' Anaya said.
Adán Augusto López, Morena senator and president of the Political Coordination Board, responded from the podium: 'We don't want political power, the people of Mexico gave us the absolute majority. (Power) is lacking for others, who do want political power, because they couldn't even control their bench yesterday.' López stated that the law, promoted by President Claudia Sheinbaum, aims to order water concessions to ensure availability for the entire population and that producer demands were already addressed after forums and consultations.
Farmer organizations, such as the Farmers' Front led by Eraclio Rodríguez, maintain road blockades in Zacatecas, Chihuahua, Sonora, Guanajuato, Querétaro, and Aguascalientes. They demand two transitory articles to recognize historical wells and perforations, warning that without them, thousands of producers would be vulnerable. 'If the Water Law advances without changes, we must push mobilization because it's the only way we have to defend ourselves,' Rodríguez declared. Baltazar Valdez, from United Farmers of Sinaloa, joined in threatening to block Mexico City. The opposition, including PRI, PAN, and MC, labels the process a 'legislative fast track' that requires detailed analysis, while Morena defends it as combating water hoarding and the black market, eliminating transfers between individuals and creating a National Water Registry.
