Everything about The Cochabamba Protests Of 2000 totally explained
The
Cochabamba protests of 2000, also known as "The Cochabamba Water Wars," were a series of protests that took place in
Cochabamba,
Bolivia's third largest city, between January and April 2000 because of the
privatization of the municipal
water supply.
Economic Background
The restoration of civilian rule to Bolivia in 1982 ended decades of military dictatorships, but didn't bring economic stability. In 1985 with
hyperinflation at an annual rate of twenty-five thousand per cent few foreign investors would do business in the country. The Bolivian government turned to the
World Bank as a last refuge against economic meltdown. For the next 20 years, successive governments followed the World Bank's provisions in order to qualify for continued loans from the organization. According to Jim Shultz, executive director of The Democracy Center in Cochabamba, the World Bank believed that “poor governments are often too plagued by local corruption and too ill equipped to run public water systems efficiently. …[andthat the use of private corporations] opens the door to needed investment and skilled management",
In a 1999 Public Expenditure Review the World Bank stated that “no subsidies should be given to ameliorate the increase in water tariffs in Cochabamba”. This was
Aguas del Tunari, a consortium led by
International Water Limited (England), the utility
Edison (Italy),
Bechtel Enterprise Holdings (USA), the engineering and construction firm
Abengoa (Spain) and two companies from Bolivia,
ICE Ingenieros and the cement maker
SOBOCE. The water network that they envisioned was projected to provide drinking water to all of the people of Cochabamba. This was set to double the existing coverage area and also introduce electrical production to more of the region.
Law 2029
To ensure the legality of the privatization the Bolivian government passed law 2029, which verified the contract with
Aguas del Tunari. To many the law appeared to give a monopoly to
Aguas del Tunari over all water resources. Many feared that this included water used for irrigation by peasant
campesino farmers, and community-based resources that had previously been independent of regulation..
State of emergency
The Bolivian Constitution allows the President (with the support of his Cabinet) to declare a 90 day
state of siege in one or more districts of the nation as an emergency measure to maintain public order in "cases of serious danger resulting from an internal civil disturbance”. Any extension beyond 90 days must be approved of by the Congress. Continuing violent clashes between the demonstrators and law enforcement led to internal exile, 40 injuries, and 5 deaths. This was the seventh time since Bolivia returned to democracy in 1982 that the "state of siege" decree has been employed.
On April 9, 2000 near the city of Achacachi, soldiers met resistance to removing a roadblock and opened fire killing two people (including a teen-age boy) and wounding several others. Angry residents overpowered soldiers and used their weapons against military leaders. They wounded Battalion commander Armando Carrasco Nava and army captain Omar Jesus Tellez Arancibia. The demonstrators then found Tellez in hospital, dragged him from his bed, beat him to death and dismembered his body.
Also on
April 9,
2000 800 striking police officers fired tear gas at soldiers (to which the soldier then fired their weapons in the air). The Banzer government then told
Aguas del Tunari that by leaving Cochabamba they'd "abandoned" the concession and declared the $200 million contract revoked. The company, insisting that it hadn't left voluntarily but been forced out, filed a $40 million lawsuit in the
International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes an appellate body of the
World Bank against the Bolivian government, “claiming compensation for lost profits under a bilateral investment treaty.”
The Cochabamba protests of 2000 are chronicled by Oscar Olivera, a Bolivian social leader and participant in the Water Wars, in his book
Cochabamba! Water Rebellion in Bolivia
.
Legal settlement
On
January 19,
2006 a settlement was reached between the Government of Bolivia (then under the Presidency of Evo Morales) and
Aguas del Tunari, it was agreed that "the concession was terminated only because of the civil unrest and the state of emergency in Cochabamba and not because of any act done or not done by the international shareholders of Aguas del Tunari". With this statement both parties agreed to drop any financial claims against the other.
Iriarte case
When no sitting judge would hear the case against Captain Robinson Iriarte, it was transferred to a military tribunal (that had final jurisdiction over which cases it hears). In March 2002, Captain Iriarte was acquitted by the tribunal of any responsibility for the death of Víctor Hugo Daza. After Iriarte's acquittal, he was promoted to the rank of major. SEMAPA managers say they're still forced to deal with graft and inefficiencies, but that its biggest problem is a lack of money (it can not raise rates and no international company will give them a loan). Franz Taquichiri, a veteran of the Water War and an SEMAPA director elected by the community, said "I don't think you'll find people in Cochabamba who will say they're happy with service. No one will be happy unless they get service 24 hours a day."
Aguas de Illimani
Similar protests took place in
La Paz over
Aguas de Illimani, a subsidiary of the French multinational
Suez. Aguas de Illimani's contract with the state was broken after allegations were made by the Bolivian government that it didn't respect all of the clauses of the contract. According to the Bolivian ambassador Pablo Solón, the International Financial Society, part of the
World Bank Group, was a share-holder of Aguas de Illimani. The ambassador pointed out that since the case was brought before the
ICSID, which is an arm of the World Bank, a conflict of interest arose in this affair .
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