What Can be Done?

The problems that Mexico City faces have been the same that the region has had since the time of the Aztecs, however, most of these issues have been exacerbated due to the quick rise of urbanization in the region. To make the lake region livable, leaders had to drain Lake Texcoco so that people could build within and expand there growth. This began in the Aztec period when they first decided to make the area their central hub, it occurred some more when the Spanish conquistadors made it its central base in the Americas and the lake were finally gone with the dictatorship of Porfirio Diaz who sought to make Mexico an international location to attract the Olympics and other international events to be hosted in Mexico. With the drainage came the floods for water no longer had anywhere to go but in the lower basins which is were the city was located and so you see many homes, buildings, and people become victims of flood. Floods were also an reoccurring event the Aztec and Spanish period. When Lake Texcoco became the center oft he Aztec nation, people swarmed to the region to be apart of something big for the region was a source of food, energy and power, Urbanization further attracted people to Mexico City which now faces overpopulation due to the high density levels in the area. Pollution is one of the recent issues that has occurred in he last centuries where urbanization is the main attribute at fault. Industrialization meant business and prosperity for the region and Mexico to profit from for there has not been a greater boom in the Mexican economy than industry. Nonetheless, with the rise of factories and new technology such as automobiles and gasoline, the city soon was affected by the horrible air which when taken in over a duration of time cause asthma and other lung problems. So what can be done to fix these issues?


•Build a well-made water system




•Create dikes and dams to control the water to decrease waste




•Use efficient energy technology such as solar and wind panels




•Instill local and national laws to create low emission automobiles




•Promote walking and bicycles as a means of transportation

Mexico needs these fixes because without a well-made water system, there are water shortages and people could become unhealthy from lack of water. I believe dikes and dams can become a problem for the ecosystem of the city, however, the city is in need of this technology for the ecosystem has already been damaged and the people could benefit from not worrying about water supply and contaminated waters. Mexico City needs to use the resources that it has left like the sun and the wind for with solar and wind panels, Mexico can be environmentally friendly while acquiring energy for their city. Walking and bicycles need to be promoted to get people from not using their cars so that pollution is controlled.

Over the decades, the Mexican government and people have usually ignored these issues because to fix, especially their water issues, the issues would be costly and the government has been plagued by corruption and incompetence for such a long time that most of the issues have not been addressed until recently.

There have been people, not government, who have in recent years developed plans to recover the lakes of the city, meaning they want to create man made lakes so that they can supply water from natural sources to Mexico City and other areas. They also want to improve air quality by implementing new actions to decrease CO2 in the air and establish population planning. This project is called "Recovering the City of the Lakes" which has not been approved as of yet by the government so these plans have not commenced.
The government, however, has instilled some federal and local plans to deal with pollution by monitoring and reporting environmental conditions constantly. These monitorings include ozone and nitrogen oxides levels so when either level gets too high some factories are closed, school hours changed, and the usual one day of the week without a car becomes two days. Pollution has decreased due to these initiatives and to strict biannual vehicle emission inspection, the Mexican owned gasoline stattions known as PEMEX has also reformulated gasoline and diesel fuels.

Water issues are usually dealt on a national scale in Mexico for it is the responsibility of the President and his or her party to regulate the use of water resources because they contribute to the financing of investments and the supply of water to regions. Locally, the governor and their party of Mexico City is in charge of water  being treated for contaminants while also directing municipalities of their water distribution and sanitation to the city. Irrigation and water waste  for Mexico City come from two irrigation districts in the nearby state of Hidalgo. Although there is a system exists to maintain all these factors of water, corruption and waste of water occurs along the way to Mexico City because the system is not fully functional. Instead of water being exported from Mexico City to other regions water is imported because there are no efficient sewage and containment mechanism for water in the city.

Although the government has made some efforts in fixing the city's problems, at most times they start projects that never finish or promise projects that never begin. The status of the protected area is ugly because the government is not willing to fully invest in projects that desperately need to be done such as make a effective water distributions system and no real actions to protect the resources that they do still have which are being depleted exponentially. If this same government attitude continues then the future of the ecosystem found in Mexico City will become worst. As it is people in the present deal with water shortages and flooding on a reoccurring timeline that makes living conditions in Mexico City not so pleasant. Complete devastation in flooding could occur that would drive people out of the city or to many of the citizens dying from natural disasters like flooding the the earth cracks which are happening more. If these issues are not fixed, the government itself could become endanger for the city is the symbol and physical centralization of power so if the federal buildings and their leaders become affected by these issues through death or health then the government and stability of the entire nation is in danger. Earth cracks with the sinking of the city and flooding could both cause the government to shut down. So what are local problems of a city can drastically effect the nation itself. Mexico City has taken some steps to fix overpopulation and pollution, however, it need to focus on improving water related issues in the region and nation for they are the ones that need desperate assistance for if left unfixed the city and its government and nation could all fall from it, literally through earth cracks.