Water Privatization in South America

Paper Summary:

This paper examines how the privatizations of water in both Bolivia and Argentina have not improved the general population's access to safe, healthy water. It looks at how to the contrary, it has harmed thousands of people in these countries, with the poorest citizens being affected by the worst of privatization's damages. It also discusses how a large number of Bolivians and Argentines are still strongly opposed to the ownership of water companies by private corporations and instead favor at least a limited government rule in their maintenance, service and regulation.

From the Paper:

"The single major turning point in the anti-water privatization campaign in Argentina occurred in January of 1996, when the water from faucets in Tucuman changed from clear to very dark for a whole month, which caused many of the province's residents to participate actively in the "stop payment" grassroots political movement. The Tucuman provincial government fined Agua del Aconquija and forced it to discount that month's water bill, and even started to consider severing ties with the company due to their exorbitant tariffs, low quality service, and suspicions of corruption of Tucuman politicians throughout the process of water privatization. "

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