Drought Hits Town, Bottled Water Flows

A severe drought in La Calera, near Bogotá, led to drastic water rationing for residents from April 2024 to April 2025. While the community struggled without water for daily needs, a subsidiary of Coca-Cola Femsa continued extracting large volumes of water to bottle under the Agua Manantial brand. This inequality fueled local unrest, as residents questioned why they had to ration while a multinational corporation did not. Activists, including local councillor Javier Cifuentes and Herminia Cristancho, campaigned for water rights, facing intimidation and threats. Despite these challenges, they brought the issue to national attention. In April 2026, local authorities reduced Indega's water concession, slashing extraction rates, the number of springs used, and the concession length. This decision marked a rare victory for environmental causes in Latin America, opening a national debate on water usage, though concerns about monitoring remain, and activists vow to continue fighting for water resource protection.