"Aguas del Tunari/Bechtel ... are currently suing the Government of Bolivia for close to US $40 million. They want Bolivians to pay for their bad investment! ... Transnationals such as Bechtel are using bilateral trade agreements to bypass the legal sovereignty of countries."

"Here, in this city which has been an inspiration to the world for its retaking of that right through civil action, courage and sacrifice standing as heroes and heroines against corporate, institutional and governmental abuse, and trade agreements which destroy that right, in use of our freedom and dignity, we declare the following:

"For the right to life, for the respect of nature and the uses and traditions of our ancestors and our peoples, for all time the following shall be declared as inviolable rights with regard to the uses of water given us by the earth:

1. Water belongs to the earth and all species and is sacred to life, therefore, the world's water must be conserved, reclaimed and protected for all future generations and its natural patterns respected.
2. Water is a fundamental human right and a public trust to be guarded by all levels of government, therefore, it should not be commodified, privatized or traded for commercial purposes. These rights must be enshrined at all levels of government. In particular, an international treaty must ensure these principles are noncontrovertable.
3. Water is best protected by local communities and citizens who must be respected as equal partners with governments in the protection and regulation of water. Peoples of the earth are the only vehicle to promote earth democracy and save water."

January 13, 2001

Dear Friends,

Warm greetings from the city of Cochabamba, Bolivia. My name is Sarah, and I was present last April when Cochabamba struggled through a week of blockades, general strikes and violent protests, which came to be known as the "War for Water". I am currently collaborating with a group of Bolivian and foreign activists, to support local efforts to maintain control over the region's water system. Essential to this struggle is the cooperation of individuals such as yourselves, who have demonstrated an interest in battling worldwide trends in privatizing water and commodifying natural resources.

The participation of the international community in support of Bolivian efforts has had an important history. During the April "War for Water"/ "Guerra por el Agua", foreigners living in Bolivia and abroad contributed articles, campaigns, and their activism in the streets. Sharing information has allowed citizens of all countries to resist privatization more effectively. Articles sent via internet inspired many concerned people to write letters of protest to the San Francisco based Bechtel Corporation, influencing them to abandon their investments in the privatization of the Cochabamba water system. More recently, we have witnessed international solidarity efforts bringing purpose and resolution to the local struggle for water rights. Therefore, thank you for your participation, concern, and solidarity efforts. It is our pleasure to inform you of recent events in Cochabamba.

The Challenges after Winning Back Our Water

In April a broad-based movement of labor, peasants, and university students stood behind the Coordinadora de Defensa del Agua y la Vida (Coalition for the Defense of Water and Life) and to take back their water. Their efforts led to the de-privatization of the local water system--ousting Aguas del Tunari (AdT), Bechtel affiliate-- and substantive changes in water legislation. Once the international corporation left, the challenge for citizens was to monitor the actions of the Government of Bolivia to protect new contracts.

A key element is the reconstruction of the local water company, SEMAPA. When the directors of Aguas del Tunari, the Bechtel affiliate, abandoned Cochabamba, they left SEMAPA with substantial debts. In addition, the political and business elite launched a campaign against the Coordinadora, boycotting and neglecting to pay tariffs imposed by SEMAPA. Although the greater public remains very much in favor of the Coordinadora, the campaign in part has wounded the credibility of SEMAPA.

Just as the Coordinadora motivated protest, now it seeks to channel the energies and creativity necessary to find real alternative solutions to both corrupt public management and impoverishing privatization of public services. The Coordinadora is committed to finding solutions to the water problem that gives lie to the notion that only the private for-profit sector can provide services, and that treats water not as a simple commodity, but as a public good. The challenges of creating a "social SEMAPA", an efficient company committed to serving the needs of its neediest customers first, are many.

The assurance of SEMAPA's future will depend on obtaining legal and financial stability. SEMAPA is currently undergoing this process with the collaboration of a support team designed to articulate a collective vision of SEMAPA's future, through a process of popular consultation. In order for SEMAPA to work, we must be successful at improving operations administratively and technically. The support team faces many challenges because people are thirsty for a more immediate solution. My household on the edge of the city of Cochabamba receives water twice a week, mostly in the mornings when water pressure rises enough to get a good shower.

With regard to the legal situation, Aguas del Tunari/Bechtel stated in May of 2000 that they intended to take the conflict to international arbitration through the International Court for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) of the World Bank. They are currently suing the Government of Bolivia for close to US $40 million. They want Bolivians to pay for their bad investment!

The process for going through ICSID is a 1992 Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) between Holland and Bolivia. It turns out that in late November of 2000, just as Aguas del Tunari was starting to operate in Cochabamba, Bechtel created new holding companies in Holland. Transnationals such as Bechtel are using bilateral trade agreements to bypass the legal sovereignty of countries. However, the government of Bolivia is not recognizing the transfer of shares as legitimate and insisting that the dispute be settled in Bolivian courts.

Nine months later the city that impressed the world with its humanity and its resistance to water privatization may have to march once more against international trade agreements.

International Delegation Visits Bolivia:

As a result of visits made by Oscar Olivera to the United States, as well as US/Canadian solidarity efforts, the Coordinadora hosted a conference the eighth of December entitled Water: Globalization, Privatization, and the Search for Alternatives. A dynamic group of individuals journeyed to Bolivia to witness resistance to globalization on a local scale and to commit their skills and knowledge towards an international plan of action. In attendance were: Maude Barlow, Director, Council of Canadians; Jaime Dunn, Director Blue Planet Project, Council; Chief Gary John, Leader, Seton Lake First Nation and Interior Alliance of First Nations of British Columbia; Antonia Juhasz, International Forum on Globalization; Cameron Duncan, Regional Secretary for Interamérica, Public Service International.

The conference presented before an audience of Bolivian and foreign professionals, students, workers, and activists, a criticism of globalization and water privatization. The Bolivian model exemplifies the successes and challenges of alternatives.

The privatization of natural resources on a global scale undermines the authority of our governments. It states that economic freedom is more important than democracy and accepts water, a human "right", as an exploitable "need" for the global market. Bolivia is at a critical moment: if the government decides to join NAFTA, water will become a tradable commodity, and the "right" to water will pass over completely to the hands of corporations like Bechtel. It will prove extremely difficult for Cochabamba to win another battle like the one in April.

On a local scale, privatization of natural resources undermines indigenous leadership, and the community initiative to make those resources available to all people. What does privatization mean in small Bolivian communities? It assures more inequality as the gap between the poor and the business elite grows, and less access to resources necessary for nutrition, farming and sanitation.

How will we take on privatization and the global economy? The answer--reverse the process of globalization, using our access to this system for international good. Instead of selling water as a human need, open to be exploited economically, we will promote it as a basic human right. Working from our community roots, and building on our international networks, internet connections we will share our struggle. However, this does not mean exploiting or selling the Cochabamba example, but working from our bases to create together an international agreement that protects water.

In order to witness local alternatives to privatization, the delegation, with members of the Coordinadora, visited rural and urban neighborhoods. To the west of Cochabamba, the community of El Paso supports an irrigation system created by members of the community after they won the right over the government-run, privatized model. In thirty days, a team of workers constructed the above ground canal that supplies the community with water.

In Altocochabamba, the highest and poorest urbanized neighborhood in Cochabamba, women used to travel to the bottom of the hill to draw water for their families. In an effort to lug enormous amounts of water back up, often they would hemorrhage and die. While Aguas del Tunari imposed its high tariffs and cried privatized water, the people of Altocochabamba were paying for water they were not receiving because of failed promises. Working with SEMAPA the community has made 800 new connections--a social victory for the city's poorer residents.

The tour led us to the neighborhood "10th of December", a mining community that was celebrating the date its workers were relocated from the mines of Potosi to that site in Cochabamba. As many who have worked the dark tunnels of mine labor will tell you, the struggle against poverty runs hand in hand with the fight against lung diseases. Winning access to water was one triumph for this community.

The importance of civil action in the struggle for water rights is alive in the histories of these neighborhoods. The alternatives suggest resistance to privatization and effective management of natural resources force people to work as a community. The goal to unite our energies in the global struggle for alternatives is critical.

Plan for the Future, Caramba!

Opposition to international trade agreements that destroy legitimacy for alternatives like SEMAPA is urgent! With the delegation we will be sharing information on trade agreements and corporations to better prepare ourselves. In addition, we will build a network to prevent a future crisis in Bolivia when it becomes necessary to move the masses. In Bolivia we have already established an informal "Bechtel watch", to monitor their activities in the water crisis. We know they are not the only ones with a stake in Bolivian water, however they are monsters that can be monitored effectively from the States. Therefore, coordinating to campaign against Bechtel is important.

In addition, various representatives will be gearing up for the conference in Vancouver, Canada July 5-8, 2001. The title of the conference is Water for People and Nature: A Forum on Conservation and Human Rights, and promises to be the next tool for international collaboration to protect our waters. For more information and registration, please see the Council of Canadians website: http://www.canadians.org/blueplanet/index2.html In addition, a representation of the delegation, foreigners living in Cochabamba and Bolivians drafted a document for future solidarity work. You can sign on to support this commitment on the same website. A copy is enclosed below.

I will continue to share relevant information for the international community to pass on. Thank you.

In solidarity,

Sarah Harden
Cochabamba, Bolivia

EL AGUA ES NUESTRA Y LAS DECISIONES TAMBIEN!!
Water is ours, and the decisions too!!

"No we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until justice pours down like water, and righteousness like a mighty stream."

The Cochabamba Declaration
December 8, 2000

We, citizens of Bolivia, Canada, United States, India, Brazil:

Farmers, workers, indigenous people, students, professionals, environmentalists, educators, nongovernmental organizations, retired people, gather together today in solidarity to combine forces in the defense of the vital right to water.

Here, in this city which has been an inspiration to the world for its retaking of that right through civil action, courage and sacrifice standing as heroes and heroines against corporate, institutional and governmental abuse, and trade agreements which destroy that right, in use of our freedom and dignity, we declare the following:

For the right to life, for the respect of nature and the uses and traditions of our ancestors and our peoples, for all time the following shall be declared as inviolable rights with regard to the uses of water given us by the earth:

1. Water belongs to the earth and all species and is sacred to life, therefore, the world's water must be conserved, reclaimed and protected for all future generations and its natural patterns respected.
2. Water is a fundamental human right and a public trust to be guarded by all levels of government, therefore, it should not be commodified, privatized or traded for commercial purposes. These rights must be enshrined at all levels of government. In particular, an international treaty must ensure these principles are noncontrovertable.
3. Water is best protected by local communities and citizens who must be respected as equal partners with governments in the protection and regulation of water. Peoples of the earth are the only vehicle to promote earth democracy and save water.

Declaración de Cochabamba
8 de diciembre de 2000

Nosotros, ciudadanos de Bolivia, Canadá, Estados Unidos, India, Brasil: