MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico’s drought, heat wave and water shortages have gotten so bad that even police blocked traffic in protest Wednesday.
In recent months, residents of some Mexico City neighborhoods have regularly formed human chains to block boulevards to demand water. In April, complaints about contaminated water led to a weeks-long crisis in an affluent neighborhood.
Normally the police try to divert traffic, but on Wednesday some officers manned a protest blockade themselves, near the capital’s iconic Independence Monument.
The officers blocked six lanes and said their barracks had been without water for a week and the bathrooms were unusable.
“We don’t have water in the bathrooms,” said a female officer who asked not to give her name for fear of reprisals. She added that conditions in the barracks were unbearable. “They make us sleep on the floor,” she said.
The lack of water has exacerbated long-standing tensions between police officers and their supervisors over issues such as sexual harassment and unfair working conditions.
“The bosses have water in their offices, but we are not allowed in there,” said the female officer. “They don’t offer us any solutions. Today they brought in a water truck after seeing the news media.”
Amid record temperatures and severe drought, many buildings in the capital need water delivered by tankers, but water is in short supply and expensive.
About 85 percent of the country was expected to see highs of at least 104 degrees (40 degrees Celsius) on Wednesday, while about a third of the country would reach 113 degrees (45 degrees Celsius) or more.
Nearly 40% of the country’s dams are at less than 20% capacity, and another 40% are between 20 and 50% full. Mexico City has been forced to reduce its water supply as the reservoirs that feed the city dry up. Some stores have bottled water.
Nationally, authorities have had to bring in water for everything from hospitals to firefighting teams. Low levels at hydroelectric dams have contributed to power outages in some parts of the country.
Consumers are also feeling the heat. On Monday, the national chain of OXXO convenience stores — the largest in the country — said it was limiting ice cream purchases to just two or three bags per customer in some locations.
Meanwhile, the heat wave has been so intense that in the Gulf Coast state of Tabasco, howler monkeys are falling from trees due to apparent heat stroke.
At least 138 of the medium-sized primates, known for their roaring vocal sounds, have been found dead in Tabasco since May 16, according to the Biodiversity Conservation of The Usumacinta group.
