Abstract

GOMEZ SERRANO, Jesús. Water Administration in the Transition from the Ancien Régime to the Republic: Aguascalientes, 1821-1835. Relac. Estud. hist. soc. [online]. 2013, vol.34, n.136, pp.187-222. ISSN 2448-7554.

This essay examines the strains that emerged between the local council (cabildo) of the villa of Aguascalientes and the wealthiest landowner in the region over the control of water for urban supplies and crop irrigation in the years following the consummation of Mexico's national independence. The creation of a new juridical framework that included the Federal Constitution of 1824 and the Constitution of the State of Zacatecas -to which the villa of Aguascalientes then pertained- completely altered the rules of the game, leaving social actors to awkwardly navigate through the new arena. The old juridical framework did not disappear overnight, of course, and the new one took several decades to become incorporated into daily practice. With a view towards situating this topic in a suitable perspective, the article begins with a brief overview of how water was administered during the Vice-regal period.

Keywords : water; uses; Cabildo; negotiations; conflict.

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