New Publication ‘AMATL’ Explores Mexico City’s Water History
Mexico City, July 16, 2026 – A new book, ‘AMATL, archive, memory and water,’ has been released, providing a deep dive into Mexico City’s intricate relationship with its most vital resource. The publication, a joint effort by the Historical Archive of Mexico City (AHCM), Agua Capital-Mexico City Water Fund, and the Water Consultative Council, with support from Grupo Helvex, draws on a wealth of previously unpublished historical documents, maps, and photographs from the AHCM.
The book offers an exploration of archival materials, council acts, and cartography that illuminate the historical decisions shaping the capital’s hydraulic development. Camilo Vicente Ovalle, director of the AHCM, stated, “We wanted to bring all this documentation into dialogue with expert voices – a total of 21 – from a very broad group of people who have worked on the issue of water from different perspectives, such as academic research, public administration, and conflict management.”
Unveiling Historical Insights and Expert Perspectives
Despite the involvement of experts, ‘AMATL’ does not present their reflections as direct interpretations of the AHCM documents. Instead, it aims to create a dialogue between the archival records and contemporary expert insights. “It’s the first time that the authors of the texts who attended the presentation have seen these documents as a whole because the idea was to put these two voices: that of the archive and that of the experts, into dialogue, in order to produce other types of reflections on the subject of water,” Ovalle clarified.
The book is structured into six chapters:
- The Water Mirror: History of Water in the Mexico Basin
- Water Has Memory: Water and the Original Peoples of Mexico City
- Rivers of Ink: Infrastructure in Plans and Projects
- When the River Sounds: The Struggle for Water
- Imaginary: Water Projects on Paper
- Water You Should Not Drink, Let It Run: Future Perspectives
These chapters aim to provide a comprehensive view of how Mexico City has interacted with water, often in tension and facing challenges. “We try to offer a more or less global perspective on how the city has been linked, in tension, in problems, with water. How we have tried at times to govern water and how it has governed us at others. To what extent the liquid has been experienced as a problem, but also as a solution,” explained the historian.
Addressing the Water Crisis: A Call for Informed Action
Jorge Fuentes Martínez, project director for the Water Consultative Council, highlighted the book’s origin in a conversation with Vicente Ovalle, emphasizing the need for public understanding of the ongoing water crisis. “We need people to understand that we are in a water crisis. They also need to understand what has been done in the past, what is being done now, and where the city should be headed,” Martínez stated.
Eduardo Vázquez Herrera, another contributing author, stressed the importance of working with and for water, acknowledging its inherent power. “We must learn in one way or another to work with and for water because we will never beat it. That’s why I say that the city lives and dies with the liquid. We are already experiencing the problem, and it requires an informed vision, collective action, and a sum of efforts,” Vázquez Herrera remarked.
Ana Francis López Bayghen, Secretary of Culture of Mexico City, underscored the cultural dimension of the relationship between water and the city. She emphasized that only through this broad perspective can its historical density and present relevance be fully understood. López Bayghen has commissioned the creation of promotional materials for Capital 21 and the department’s social media channels to disseminate the book’s content.
Accessibility and Future Plans
With a print run of 500,000 copies, the digital edition of ‘AMATL’ is freely available for download on www.aguas.org.mx and through the social media channels of the Water Consultative Council and the AHCM. A shorter, bilingual version, with fewer images and texts, is planned for the upcoming World Water Week in Stockholm, scheduled from August 24 to 28.
The AHCM houses documents pertaining to Mexico City from 1524 onwards, including those specifically related to water. The book’s creation involved a meticulous process of bringing these historical records into conversation with contemporary expert analysis, offering a fresh perspective on a critical issue.
