In the mountainous region of Villa Madero in the Mexican state of Michoacán, subsistence farmers suffering from a prolonged drought have taken direct and radical action: they are tearing out irrigation equipment at commercial avocado orchards and breaching unlicensed irrigation ponds, which they say are draining local streams, springs and lakes and depriving their communities of water. The farmers argue that these water-intensive orchards, frequently lacking legal permits, are exacerbating the water crisis by diverting and hoarding mountain water sources.