Home Institution
Columbia University
Publication Date
Fall 2017
Abstract
Cualquier persona que haya vivido en Cochabamba por más de unos pocos años puede decir que la ciudad tiene una larga historia de problemas de agua. La respuesta del Estado a estos problemas ha sido variada y, a veces, problemática. En el año 1999, el gobierno de Bolivia firmó un contrato con una empresa transnacional llamada Aguas del Tunari en una tentativa de privatizar el suministro municipal del agua de Cochabamba. Después de un drástico aumento en los precios del agua, protestas y manifestaciones estallaron por toda la ciudad de Cochabamba. La gente de Cochabamba finalmente logró presionar al gobierno para que retrocediera y cancelara el contrato con Aguas del Tunari, pero un inesperado resultado adicional de la Guerra fue el que reveló sistemas alternativos de manejo de agua que habían existido incluso antes de esta pelea. En este ensayo, exploro el valor de estos sistemas comunitarios - cómo funcionan, su valor y la relación que tienen con el Estado. En última instancia, mi objetivo es considerar lo que podemos aprender de estos sistemas alternativos tanto a nivel práctico como teórico.
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Anyone who has lived in Cochabamba for more than a few years can tell you that the city has a long history of water problems. The State's response to these problems has been varied and, at times, troublesome. In the year 1999, Bolivia's government signed a contract with an independent company named Aguas del Tunari (a joint venture involving the US transnational corporation Bechtel) in an attempt to privatize Cochabamba's municipal water supply. Following a drastic increase in water prices, protests and demonstrations broke out all over the city of Cochabamba. The people of Cochabamba eventually succeeded in pressuring the government to back down and cancel the contract with Tunari, but an unexpected additional outcome of the Water War was that it revealed alternative water management systems that had existed even before this fight. In this essay, I explore the value of these community systems -- how they work, their value, and the relation they have with the state. Ultimately, it is my goal to consider what we can learn from these alternative systems both on a practical and on a theoretical level.
Disciplines
Agricultural and Resource Economics | Community-Based Research | Family, Life Course, and Society | International and Area Studies | Latin American Studies | Work, Economy and Organizations
Recommended Citation
Figueroa, Julius, "¡El agua es nuestra! Pensar desde afuera del discurso de ‘público vs privado’ / The water is ours! Thinking from outside the 'public vs. private' speech" (2017). Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection. 2541.
https://digitalcollections.sit.edu/isp_collection/2541
Included in
Agricultural and Resource Economics Commons, Community-Based Research Commons, Family, Life Course, and Society Commons, Latin American Studies Commons, Work, Economy and Organizations Commons
Program Name
Bolivia: Multiculturalism, Globalization, and Social Change