Bechtel- The Bolivian Water Revolt

Bechtel is a US based corporation with "development" projects in many parts of the Tw0-Thirds World. Together with the World Bank, in 1999 a subsidiary of Bechtel convinced the Bolivian government that a privatization plan of the water supply for the third largest city, Cochabamba. After succeeding in this effort, the company proceeded to raise water prices so high that families could no longer afford to pay for food and water.

Due to the dramatic rate increases, Bolivians organized into a group called the Coordinadora began to revolt and they shut down Cochabamba for three days. The government gave into their demands and agreed to review the company and the rate increases, but when the time limit given to them by the Coordinadora expired and nothing had been done, the people of Cochabamba took to the street again to protest. This time however they were met with over 1000 riot police brought in from other towns to quell the protest. In this clash, around 175 people were injured and the government agreed to act on the demands for a rate cutback.

After reviewing the contract between the Bechtel subsidiary and the government however, members of the Coordinadora decided that the only way to truly free themselves from dangerous rate increases was for the contract to be revoked. So they issued a referendum for which 90% of the more than 60,000 participants answered yes, that the contract should be canceled. They shut down the city once again and met with government officials. At the negotiation meeting, the leaders of the Coordinadora were arrested, revealing the meeting as a trap by the government. Protests continued and just days after the arrests, violence again broke out in Cochabamba when the President declared a state of martial law in the city. A 17 year old boy was killed and many more Cochabambinos were arrested while the corporation refused to take any responsibility.

However, on the Monday following the confrontations, protests continued and the government announced that Bechtel officials would leave the country and the contract would be canceled (Shultz, 2003). The saga does not end there as Bechtel decided to sue the Bolivian people for $25 million in a secret World Bank court (Chavez, 2006).

While the Coordinadora was not run solely by indigenous groups, it is an indication of what political motivation can do because shortly after, in 2002, Evo Morales made his first run for president. While it took a few more years for him to win the election, he did get a high percentage of the vote in his first run. Water rights are an issue that indigenous people deal with all the time, but once the middle class became affected, the movement gained legitimacy and Morales was able to become president.

Even though a preliminary settlement has been brokered between Bechtel and the Bolivian people it is important that this corporation get the message that they cannot carry out legal action against impoverished groups in secret. It is also important to note that Bechtel has major contracts in Iraq. Go here to let Riley Bechtel (the CEO of Bechtel, Inc.) that you do not appreciate the actions of his company in Bolivia.