In 2024, the state of Querétaro in north-central Mexico suffered its worst drought in a century, impacting crops and communities. Seventeen of the state’s 18 municipalities were affected, putting drinking water access at risk for thousands of families, according to CONAGUA, Mexico’s National Water Commission. With freshwater already diminished due to worsening climate change, Querétaro residents now fear a more calamitous future, with the announcement that 32 new data centers — the physical facilities needed to satisfy humanity’s insatiable desire for Internet-sourced data — planned for the state. Most recently, on Sept. 25, U.S. tech firm CloudHQ announced plans to spend $4.8 billion building Mexico’s biggest ever “hyperscale” data center campus in Querétaro, most likely for cloud and artificial intelligence (AI) computing. It appears likely the state will emerge as Mexico’s data center capital, with a strong emphasis on AI capabilities. The Querétaro growth spurt has angered some local activists, who argue authorities have their priorities wrong, elevating the needs of transnational corporate tech giants like Microsoft and Amazon, above those of local communities. “Water is what’s needed for the people, not for these industries,” campaigner Teresa Roldán says. Environmentalist Teresa Roldán Soria (left), is aiding local residents in an area known as Los Sabinos in the municipality of Pedro Escobedo in Querétaro state, Mexico. Here she joins with local people to defend a spring and age-old ahuehuete (Taxodium mucronatum) trees against development. The ahuehute, also known as the Montezuma cypress, is Mexico’s national tree. Image courtesy of Teresa Roldán…This article was originally published on Mongabay

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