WATER ABLAZE - Patagonia Sin Represas

WARS FOR WATER IN BOLIVIA 5
Evo Morales, a former coca farmer of indigenous origin, played a leading
role in the successful struggle against neoliberalism and neocolonial
plundering in Bolivia, a country where – despite an abundance of
natural resources – two thirds of the population live below the poverty
line. In December 2005, he gained a spectacular victory in the Bolivian
presidential election as candidate for the left-wing Movement Toward
Socialism (MAS).
By calling for the renationalisation of the country’s natural gas
deposits and for higher taxes on exports of raw materials, Morales
succeeded above all in mobilising the extremely poor rural population.
His election as president, however, was preceded by political turmoil
and a long series of protests, some of which became violent. One of the
main issues at the centre of these clashes was the question as to who
should be responsible for drinking water supplies.
Many have prophesied that there would be struggles for water as
the key resource of the twenty-first century and this has long since
become reality in Bolivia. One particularly notorious example of this
was the “water wars” in Cochabamba in 2000, when the region was
placed under martial law and several people were killed. The events
in Bolivia are an example of how developing nations, when subjected
to international pressure exerted under the guise of economic aid and
modernisation measures, can very easily fall prey to large international
water companies, who know only too well how to turn the needs of
even the most destitute sections of the population into hard cash.
71