In 1967, a water ban in Oaxaca, Mexico, spurred social mobilization for the defense of hydrological resources. In contrast to other similar processes elsewhere in the country, dialogue has been essential here and has led to negotiations between the Mexican state and the affected communities. During the past 15 years, these negotiations have involved nonhuman beings, such as spirits and ancestors who inhabit the territories, as agentive actors. A cosmopolitical perspective that recognizes both the agency of, and the relations between, both human and nonhuman beings broadens the understanding of this process.