Water Privatization in Cochabamba, Bolivia
and the Effects On Locals
What is water privatization? Well, water privatization is when a large company or companies take control over a city’s water and sewage system. Many times, locals are left to pay for the cost of privatization rather than the company. Cochabamba, Bolivia is one example of this. Cochabamba’s water and sewage system was fully controlled by a large company. The company has access to all the water in Cochabamba however, the people didn’t. Of course, this affected the locals in many ways. Many people were angry and upset with water privatization and decided they wanted to fight against it. Water privatization became a huge problem with the people
Cochabamba’s water system is controlled by a large company, but who is that company and why are they in control of a basic human right? The International Development Bank, The International Monetary Fund and The World Bank forced Bolivia to privatize some of their water systems as a way to pay back the country’s debt, as they could not afford to pay them back (Wikipedia, 2018). SEMAPA, Cochabamba’s water system, was originally given to International Water Ltd and Bechtel Corporation however, in September of 1999, the Bolivian government secretly signed a $2.5 billion contract to give Aguas del Tunari SEMAPA. On October 11,1999, the Bolivian government made water privatization legal and Aguas del Tunari made it public that they will be taking over SEMAPA. Law 2029 was made by the Bolivian government which stated that Aguas del Tunari would be able to control the private water and sewage disposal systems. (Sheraz Sadiq, 2002). They promised to give the people of Cochabamba easy access to clean and safe drinking water. In January of 2000, Aguas del Tunari was fully and independently operating Cochabamba’s water system, however things didn’t go quite as they expected. (Public Citizen Mass Energy and Environment Program, 2017).
After Aguas del Tunari took over SEMAPA, the price of water skyrocketed. Many people could no longer afford to pay their water bills due to the increased price in water. Locals water bills increased by 35% (Public Citizen Mass Energy and Environment Program, 2017). Due to the expensive water bills, there was also a 2% increase in poverty in the area. Unfortunately, the increased price in water wasn’t the only things that affected locals. Water privatization did almost nothing to help with the access of clean water. Only 26% of water in urban areas in Bolivia is disinfected. Similarly, only 25% of waste water in Bolivia gets treated. After Aguas del Tunari took over, there was a small percentage of people claimed to have access to water, and very little of it was clean (Food & Water Watch, 2018). The people who didn’t have access to water at all still had to pay for the privatization process because Aguas del Tunari said “they would have access in the future” (Public Citizen Mass Energy and Environment Program, 2017). Poorer people who were not hooked up to the water system had to pay up to as much as 10 times more for the water than the rich people who were hooked up to the system. The water system itself was also a problem for locals. Many of the pipes connecting
the water to people’s houses were poorly constructed, as well as the sanitation tanks being
WATER PRIVATIZATION IN COCHABAMBA, BOLIVIA 3
very old. Due to the lack of money Cochabamba could not fix many of these issues. In result
many people’s pipes broke leaving them with no water. The remaining water usually came out unsanitized, but due to poverty in many local families people had no choice but to drink the water that came out (Frederik Segerfeldt, 2006). As expected, many people in Cochabamba were unhappy with the service, so much so that they decided they were going to do something about it.
In February 2000, the city of Cochabamba started what would go down in history as the “Cochabamba Water War”. The city shut down for four days due to the uprising locals had started to end water privatization. Strikes, roadblocks and marches were few of the many things done by locals in attempt to stop water privatization. (Public Citizen Mass Energy and Environment Program, 2017). It wasn’t until February 4th the peaceful marches and protests turned violent. The first incident of violence was when police was armed with tear gas and threw it at protesters marching in the streets. About 175 people were injured and 2 people were blinded by the tear gas. Over 20 people were arrested during the protest. The protests continued to take place from February until April 10. On April 8, 2000, 17-year-old Victor Hugo Daza was shot in the head by the police. Unfortunately he was just one of the six people who would be killed during these uprisings. On April 10, 2000, Oscar Olivera (the leader of the water protests and owner of La Coordinadora) and the Bolivian government signed an agreement that guarantees the withdrawal of Aguas del Tunari. La Coordinadora gained control of Cochabamba’s water system instead. The Bolivian government also promised to take back the law legalizing water privatization and release those who were arrested during the protests (Sheraz Sadiq, 2002). This was a victory Cochabamba would never forget.
As stated above, water privatization can cause many issues in different communities. In Cochabamba, Bolivia, Aguas del Tunari ran their water systems. After the company took over and water privatization was legalized, many locals became unhappy with the way the system was run. The locals were left to pay lots of money for the water privatization process and in return very few people benefited from it. Locals became angry and upset and started uprisings as a result. These uprisings would go down in history as the “Cochabamba water war.” Water privatization had a huge affect in Cochabamba.