The materialization of El Zapotillo Dam in the Highlands of Jalisco, Mexico

Abstract

This article seeks to contribute to a better understanding of the policies and modes of governance driving the acceleration of construction mineral extraction rates in Mexico, through a case study of a controversial development project that resulted in hundreds of thousands of tons of unused concrete: El Zapotillo Dam in the Highlands of Jalisco, Mexico. It analyzes the types and volumes of materials extracted for the construction of El Zapotillo Dam and for the housing infrastructure meant for displaced families, the subjects involved in the extraction and transformation of these materials, and the socio-environmental impacts. Information was obtained through Mexico's National Transparency Platform and by reviewing environmental impact assessments, academic texts on the conflict around the dam, newspaper sources and data available on the Internet. Primary sources include the application of interviews and direct observation during a series of visits to the affected territories and the dam site between August 2022 and June 2024. In accordance with extractive tendencies on the national and global levels, the findings of this research illustrate how – even in the case of a high-profile development project – poor regulation can combine with the emergence of hybrid forms of governance to expand the extractive frontier.