The absence of objective and independent assessment constrains experience sharing. The majority of river basin council presidents are not elected, putting into question the legitimacy of their representative functions and risking political capture (on this issue, changes have occurred in 11 RBCs where the president was elected and is no longer a CONAGUA representative). Mexico has a 70-year history of hierarchical and top-down management in water and planning practices. In addition, although they were legislatively established, there is no consensus on the role of river basin councils’ participation on the ground because their value added is unknown and their work is still in its infancy.