Bolivia is a country located in the heart of South America. During 15 years in Bolivia were privatized nearly all the companies and services: electricity, air transportation, hydrocarbons, mining, forest resources, telecommunications, etc.

Until the Water War, Bolivia was an example for the World Bank and the IMF.

WHAT HAPPEND THE YEAR 2000

A great social conflict in the city of Cochabamba and other big battle in September of that year in La Paz stopped the privatization processes:

The contract that privatized in favor of the Bechtel the water public service in Cochabamba was broken. The Bechtel is one of the biggest American Water Company.
It was modified substantially the law of drinking water and sanitary sewer.

The drinking water service returned to the municipality of Cochabamba.
Another project of water law that wanted to privatize all uses of water was withdrawn.
Why the water awoke Bolivia?

If a person can't travel by plane, he travels by bus, if a person can't pay the electrical light he uses a sail, if a person can't eat meat, he just eats simple soup, but what happens if one loses the access to water? He die's! "The water is life and nobody can be taken out from life". This is the force of water.

This element that is present in most of the urban societies is reinforced in Bolivia by the vision of the peasant communities and indigenous groups.

For the Aymaras, Quechuas and Guaranies the water is the blood of the "Pachamama", of the mother earth. To speak of privatizing, commodification and giving price to water is going against centuries of social managing of water. When it was approved the water drinking law and was subscribed the contract with Aguas del Tunari-Bechtel they went against centuries of uses and mores of the indigenous and peasants communities.

Which were the causes of the conflicts?

The privatization of the public service of drinking water in Cochabamba and the authorization to raise tariffs in an order from 40% to 300%.
The attempt to expropriate hundreds of small suburban system of drinking water in order to assure the monopoly to the big Corporation.
The intention to give to the transnational the water resources of the peasant communities.
These measures were established in the contract with Aguas del Tunari-Becthel and in the drinking water Law 2029 that was approved by the parliament in less than 48 hours. An important fact that explains why they were in such a hurry to approve this law is that leaders from the political parties of government and the opposition were part of the Aguas del Tunari-Bechtel Company.

The signature of the Contract was made in September 1999 and a month later was approved the law of drinking water. In December began the first protests, in January 2000 there was the first blockade in the roads, in February there was a great confrontation in the city and the land, and in April we had a real civil war.

The sectors that reacted were:

The people that were opposed to the tariffs increase.
The inhabitants of the neighborhoods that were afraid to lose their small water systems because the monopoly rights were given to the Transnational Company.
The peasants, the coca producer and the communities that wanted to defend their water resources to which they had have access for centuries.
All these sectors were grouped in the "Coordinadora de Defensa del Agua y de la Vida de Cochabamba". This organization emerged in November 1999 and in a couple of weeks had absolute power.

In April 2,000 the contract with Aguas del Tunari-Bechtel was broken and the water drinking law was modified in 38 of its 82 articles. Today the new law carries the number 2066.

In September 2000, another conflict with blockades in the roads surrounding the City of La Paz toke place during 20 days, and withdrawn another privatizing water law project.

THE SOCIAL COST OF THE WATER WAR

The social conflicts in April and September 2.000 had the result of 9 dead and a hundred of injured some very serious, dozens of prisoners and confined and a state of siege that lasted just a few days because of the protest strength.

Because of the destruction of highways and roads during the blockades the Country lost $90 million dollars and another $ 70 million dollars were lost in goods that couldn't be sold because of the blockades.

The responsibility of the WB, the IMF and the IADB

Certainly the responsible for this result were the national authorities that approved these contracts and laws. However, the government position was supported by multilateral institutions.

As an example of the international pressure let me read this press article published in the newspaper "El Diario" the 1 of July 1997.

Multilateral organizations press the Government

THE BOLIVIAN DEBT OF $600 MILLION DOLARS CAN BE FORGIVEN IF SEMAPA (THE WATER COMPANY) OF COCHABAMBA IS PRIVATIZED.

The International Monetary Fund and the World Bank will define the next week, the actions in favor of Bolivia, if the Government privatizes the water service in Cochabamba, says president of Bolivia Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada.

The condonation of 600 million dollars of multilateral debt from Bolivia, on be half of World Bank (WB), International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB), could be executed until the next week, if it's concluded the privatization program of the water drinking company in Cochabamba (SEMAPA)

We want to outline the case of Bolivia in the World Water Forum of next year in order to demonstrate that the World Water Vision that was approved in the Netherlands drives to these wars and confrontations that none of us wants.

WHAT HAS HAPPENED AFTER THE VICTORI OF APRIL?

The biggest problem that the "Coordinadora" is facing is the management of the public drinking water company in Cochabamba (SEMAPA). One thing is to speak against the privatization and another to manage a company that has the challenge to go from 50% to 100% in the coverage of the service.

The enemy hasn't sleep since April 2000:

The Bechtel Company tries to collect a compensation of 25 million dollars from Bolivia even dough they only invested during 7 months less than a million dollars.
The government defers the approval of the bylaws for the new law we conquered in order to avoid its full implementation.
The government and the neoliberal parties sabotage systematically the public drinking company SEMAPA to demonstrate that the "Coordinadora" is inefficient and that the privatization is the only way.
The government is using more and more repression against the social protests and following up the American Embassy instructions in order to open trials against the principal leaders.
Political and private groups are trying to approve an underground exportation water law from a very dry part of Bolivia to the mining companies in Chile. Today, this is the new chapter of the water war in Bolivia. If the government and the corporations achieve to approve a water exportation law, even only in part of Bolivia, the privatization and commodification of water will have won a decisive battle.

We are conscious that our conquests can't be assured if we don't change the political system in Bolivia. Therefore, the "Coordinadora" is struggling for a Constituent Popular Assembly, so that people can decide without the need of political parties, how should our Country be organized and ruled.

WHICH ARE OUR CHALLENGES AT AN INTERNATIONAL LEVEL?

The water war in Bolivia is a prelude of the water war in the world. During these two last years the warriors of life and water in Bolivia have arrived to the conclusion that it's not possible to defeat definitely the privatization of water within the national frontiers. The water is a vital resource that goes trough frontiers and continents. What we need is a Universal Statement of Water as well as there is a Universal Statement of Human Rights. We have to advance toward an International Treaty of Water that establishes:

the water belongs to all the living species including humans and the earth it self
nobody can privatized what belongs to everybody,
the water can't be treated as a merchandise,
The assignment of water resources must be given through solidarity mechanisms in harmony with the nature.
Dear audience. There is a danger that we must defeat before it's to late. This danger is the international exportation of water. If this continues under international corporate rules the privatization and commodification would have won. We need an international campaign in order to defeat this threat, and we must discuss concrete action in this sense.
To conclude allowed me to remember the soul and the courage of all the water warriors that have been killed in Bolivia and the world.

Thank you very much

text: Pablo Solon