Oscar Olivera is executive secretary, Cochabamba Federation of Factory Workers; spokesperson for The Coalition for the Defense of Water and Life (La Coordinadora). He gained international recognition for leading a grassroots protest against the privatization of water in Cochabamba, Bolivia.
In April 2000, Olivera entered into successful negotiations with the government to cancel Cochabamba's water privatization contract with Aguas del Tunari, secure the release of persons arrested during the protests and have troops withdrawn from the city. Management of Cochabamba's water system was turned over to Olivera and La Coordinadora.
Olivera, a native of Cochabamba and former shoe-factory worker, has been likened to Cesar Chavez in his appearance and manner as well as in the strength of his populist convictions. A year after the Cochabamba crisis, he was honored as a 2001 Goldman Environmental Prize winner from Central/South America.
For Olivera, the struggle in Cochabamba signified more than a collective refusal to pay excessive rates for water. It was, instead, an expression of the belief that "water is a shared right, and that right is not for sale."
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