WATER ABLAZE - Patagonia Sin Represas

civil society such as farmers, workers, and indigenous people, but
rather the traditional political parties.
Right from the start, the Constituent Assembly had many
problems accomplishing any work at all. Time factors were of
great importance and the right-wing political parties within the
Assembly tried to block any advance in dealing with issues. The
new constitution was eventually born in Sucre – paradoxically inside
an army base – and was ratified while violent protests were taking
place, during which three people died.
So what does the new constitution say about water Article 16
states that every person has the right to water and food, while article
20 states that every person has the universal right of access to basic
services such as water, sewage, electricity, gas, telecommunications
and transport. At the same time, it also says that indigenous people
will be allowed to construct, manage and maintain the water
systems in their own territories and that respect will be shown to the
traditions of the indigenous communities and the way in which they
use their water sources. Finally, the constitution guarantees that the
state will protect the use of “water for life”.
Oscar Olivera is spokesman for the Coalition for the Defence of
Water and Life, the group representing the movement that headed
the water war in 2000. In discussing how the new constitution –
which came into effect during the Morales government’s term of
office – regards water, Oscar Olivera said: “The status of water in the
new constitution, drafted by the Constituent Assembly at the end of
2007, is the result of demands made by the social movements which
have been fighting for this natural resource since 2000.”
However, he goes on to say: “The new constitution establishes a
normative horizon for water, based on international agreements in
combination with the revival of the historical and ancestral values
of our parents and grandparents. It also takes up the international
campaign of peoples from all over the world, in which water is held
to be the common property of all living beings and a generous gift
of Mother Earth (Pachamama). However, this aspired norm will have
no effect whatsoever due to the liberal character of the economic
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