Water Fallout
Bolivians battle globalization
by Jim Shulk
In These Times magazine, May 2000
As thousands of people were preparing to march on Washington
to protest the unchecked global economy, in Bolivia an enormous
uprising of workers, farmers and other ordinary people won a major
battle against globalization, kicking the San Francisco-based
Bechtel Corporation out of the country.
The roots of the recent uprisings were planted last year when
the Bolivian government, under pressure from the World Bank, sold
off Cochabamba's public water system to Bechtel subsidiary Aguas
Del Tunari. While the financial details of the deal have been
kept secret, Bechtel's interest was clear: to fleece Bolivians
of as much of their tiny incomes as quickly as possible. Within
weeks of hoisting up their new corporate logo, they hit water
users with rate hikes of double and more. Families earning a minimum
wage of less than $100 per month were expected to fork over $20
or have the tap shut off. For World Bank economists and Bechtel
executives, that's lunch money. For Bolivian families, it's food
for more than a week.
In January, Cochabamba's residents shut down their city for
four days with general strikes and transportation stoppages. The
Bolivian government promised to lower water rates, and the protests
ended. But within a few weeks, that pledge was broken. On February
4, thousands attempted to march peacefully in Cochabamba. But
President Hugo Banzer-who was Bolivia's Pinochet-style dictator
for most of the '70s-returned to his old ways. Banzer called out
the police, who engulfed protesters in tear gas for two days,
leaving 175 injured and two youths blinded.
The people of Cochabamba didn't back down. In a survey of
more than 60,000 residents in March, 90 percent said it was time
for Aguas Del Tunari to go and for the water system to be returned
to public control. Residents closed down the city again starting
on April 4. But once again, the Bolivian government came to Bechtel's
rescue. Four days into the demonstrations, the Bolivian government
declared martial law. Police arrested protest leaders, taking
them from their beds in the middle of the night, shut off radio
stations in mid-broadcast, and sent soldiers into the streets.
On April 8, the Bolivian military shot 17-year old Victor Hugo
Daza in the face, killing him. "The blood spilled in Cochabamba
carries the fingerprints of Bechtel," says protest leader
Oscar Olivera.
On April 10, the government finally conceded, signing an accord
that agreed to every demand the protesters had made. The people
of Cochabamba rejoiced at the victory and the city's normal pace
of life returned the next day, just as Banzer started cranking
up his PR machine. One spokesman referred to the protesters as
narcotraffickers. That lie was repeated by naive reporters and
editors worldwide. Meanwhile, Bechtel put out its own spin. "We
are also dismayed by the fact that much of the blame is falsely
centered on the government's plan to raise water rates in Cochabamba,"
read a company statement, "when in fact, a number of other
water, social and political issues are the root causes of this
civil unrest."
It's true that the strength and international attention of
Cochabamba's water protests did embolden-and become linked with-other
protests around the country, such as marches in the countryside
against a new law ending public control of rural water systems,
a police strike in the capital city of La Paz, and complaints
about unfinished highways. But the people who marched 70 miles
on foot from small towns to join the Cochabamba protest, the thousands
who filled the city plaza day after day, and the women who went
door to door gathering food donations to cook for the protesters,
all clearly demonstrate that the uprising was over Bechtel. The
fuse was the rate hikes, and narco-trafficking had about as much
to do with it as Elian Gonzalez. "This is a struggle for
justice," says the mayor of a small town, who walked for
12 hours to join the protest, "and for the removal of an
international business that, even before offering us more water,
had begun to charge us prices that are outrageously high."
In the emerging battle over global economics, the humble people
of this easily forgotten country have offered the world a powerful
lesson.
Jim Shultz, executive director of The Democracy Center (www.democracyctr.org),
lives in Cochabamba.
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