Bolivia 'Water War' - Part 4

The events of the water war in Cochabamba are well know worldwide – what happened afterward not so much. As an outside observer, it is easy to approve of the social movement in Cochabamba and how the people managed to resist the private companies. But by looking closer in what happened after the water war, it turns out that things are not simply black and white in regards to water privatization. In fact, in comparison to the Bolivian cities La Paz and El Alto, where water supply is privatized, Cochabamba is doing worse.

Even though the water prices decreased after Bechtel left the city, they are still above average. The change of the total water coverage rate is very distinct, particularly for the poorest people. The decrease for the lowest quintile from 63.3% in 1996 to 25.9% in 2005 is dramatic. In addition, from 2001 to 2005, the average water capita expenditure increased for the poor and decreased for the upper class. These numbers clearly indicate that there has been no positive development or reduction in poverty in the city after the anti-privatization of the water supply in 2000 (Hailu 2012).

It is expected that private water supply is set up faster than a community-owned water governance. It is the proficiency of private companies to provide access to water - they have money and know-how to do so. Whereas on the other side, a water governance based on social justice still needs to be framed. This is the problem in Cochabamba since the end of the 'water war'. The leaders of the social movement have the 'water as common good' approach in mind, but the external circumstances make it difficult to act upon the approach. As mentioned above, the Cochabamba elite would not cooperate, and corruption even within the SEMAPA would garner little support from the local population. That, in turn, makes the Andean communities go back to their tradition of self-help (Bakker 2010:169).

Fabricant comes to the conclusion that international human rights laws have to be adapted; otherwise, state regulation and service delivery will always determine water justice. In addition, one has to wait if the organizations will be able to “build a water management system that is truly based upon the principles of social justice and equality” (2013:138; 143).

Bakker, Karen. Privatizing Water. Governance Failure and the World's Urban Water Crisis. Cornell University Press: Ithaca and London. 2010. Print.

Fabricant, Nicole; Hicks, Kathryn. Bolivia's Next Water War. Historicizing the Struggles over Access to Water Resources in the Twenty-First Century. In: Radical History Review. Issue 116. Spring 2013. MARHO:The Radical Historians' Organization. PDF.

Hailu, Degol; Guerreiro Osorio, Rafael; Tsukada, Raquel. Privatization and Renationaliztion: What Went Wrong in Bolivia's Water Sector? In: World Development. Vol. 40, No. 12. Elsevier: Amsterdam. 2012. PDF. pp. 2564-2577.