The Bolivian People 61indebted water system of the valley city of Cochabamba.
The government granted a 40-year concession to operate
the system to a consortium whose dominant players were
International Water Limited (an Italian company) and Bechtel,
now famous for having advocated war on Iraq and then
receiving a lucrative no-bid contract to reconstruct Iraq.
In the Cochabamba consortium some of the ‘usual
Bolivian suspects’ were listed as minority investors, but it
was Bechtel’s business.
The newly privatised company immediately raised
water prices. Earning ¹/ 30 of a European or US salary,
Cochabambans were suddenly expected to pay Euro or US
level water bills. The poorest citizens faced losing their access
to this necessity of life. Oscar Olivera became a leader in
the campaign to regain local water control. Thanks to his
lucidity and his years of organising experience, he became
the spokesperson for the Coalition in Defense of Water and
Life, which everyone knows as La Coordinadora.
Militant protests lasted for weeks. A Bolivian army
sniper killed one protester while hundreds were injured,
and Coalition leaders were arrested. Olivera escaped and
then went into hiding. When the protesters refused to
give in, the government was obligated to negotiate and
Olivera resurfaced.
In April 2000, with massive public support for the
protesters, the government had no choice but to cave in
and La Coordinadora was given control over the city’s water
system, with all the financial encumbrances that such
control implied. The unbelievable sequence of events was
capped by the Bolivian government’s cancellation of the
privatisation contract. This was the fi rst signifi cant victory
against the global fi nancial community’s effort to privatise
water resources. Olivera continues to head La Coordinadora’s
grass roots management while Bechtel continues to seek
compensation through world fi nancial bodies where it has
much leverage.
Following the Coordinadora victory, Olivera won
environmental awards and promptly handed the money
over to the Abril Foundation, a new NGO dedicated to