more bolivia

[Michael Perelman <michael@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Date: Tue, 11 Apr 2000 13:02:30 -0700 (PDT)
From: MichaelP <papadop@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: INFO:Bolivia menu: Bechtel spin plus earlier piece

(Thanks JanetE)
Bechtel's response (below) reads as if they have not really pulled out
of
the privatization contract, but rather "are in urgent discussions with
local leaders to determine an appropriate resolution to the water
shortage
problems facing the Cochabamba region".
Since some of the truly "local" leaders have been locked away under
martial law principles, I suppose the "local leaders" are those who
helped
develop the original privatization scheme?

Cheers
MichaelP

In response to what was posted last week-end
by "Jim Shultz" <JShultz@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> from Cochabamba,
Michael Pierce McKeever, Sr.[ http://www.mkeever.com/] wrote to Bechtel;

the subject was the civil unrest resulting from proposed rate increases
associated with privatization of water and sewer
utilities.

Here is a reply from someone at Bechtel :
===============

From: "Apps, Gail" <gapps@xxxxxxxxxxx>
To: 'mckeever' <mckeever@xxxxxxxxx>
Subject: RE: Shame on You
Date: Tue, 11 Apr 2000 10:44:00 -0700

In response to your e-mail message about Cochabamba, we provide the
following statement issued Tuesday morning, the 11th, by International
Water Ltd., a water development company owned by Bechtel Enterprises and

Edison S.p.A.  Edison S.p.A., an affiliate of Group Montedison, is
Italy's
largest private energy services company.  Aguas del Tunari, mentioned
below, is the IWL-led consortium that negotiated the Cochabamba water
concession. If you have further questions or comments, please contact
IWL's London headquarters at (44-171) 766-5100.  Alternatively, you may
send e-mail to mail@xxxxxxxxx

"We are saddened by the violence that has occurred in Bolivia this past
week.

"We are equally dismayed by the fact that much of the blame is falsely
centered on the government's plan to raise water rates in Cochabamba,
when
in fact, a number of other water, social and political issues are the
root
causes of this civil unrest.  Several of these factors have all led to
the
tensions on display throughout the country:

*      proposed water legislation (unrelated to the Aguas del Tunari
concession) that requires farmers and others to obtain permits for water

extraction
*      unemployment and other economic difficulties facing Bolivian
citizens
*      a government crackdown on coca-leaf production
*      and police protests over salaries.

"We are in urgent discussions with local leaders to determine an
appropriate resolution to the water shortage problems facing the
Cochabamba region. Currently more than 40% of the region's citizens have

no direct access to water resources.  We were invited by the government
to
participate in a privatization program to develop long-term solutions to

provide safe and affordable water and wastewater services.  During the
past several months we have participated in a number of meetings with
government and community leaders to identify acceptable options to ease
the transition from public to private management.  We remain flexible in

our approach and hopeful that the government and community can reach
consensus on a solution that allows the water delivery system to be
expanded and improved."

=======================

April 11, 2000

Bolivian Water Plan Dropped After Protests Turn Into Melees

LA PAZ, Bolivia, April 10 (REUTERS)--

After violent protests in Bolivian cities on Saturday and Sunday over a
bill that would impose charges for water, an international consortium
pulled out of a planned $200 million waterworks project today.

Five people died in the violence over the weekend and at least 40 were
injured, the government said today.

About 20 labor union and civic leaders were arrested in the nationwide
protests, which occurred in response to proposed legislation on water
rates.

Roadblocks had been set up by peasant unions pressing the government to
relent on a bill in Congress that threatens to make them pay for water
they currently receive free.

Some of the most violent protests took place in the central city of
Cochabamba, where a multimillion-dollar electricity and drinking water
network was scheduled to be built by Aguas de Tunari, a consortium led
by
International Water Limited, based in London, which would increase water

costs by 35 percent.

Cochabamba is the third-largest city in the poor landlocked country of
eight million people.

The company is jointly owned by an Italian utility, Edison, and an
American company, Bechtel Enterprise Holdings.

Other members of the consortium include a Spanish engineering and
construction firm, Abengoa, and two Bolivian companies, ICE Ingenieros
and
a cement maker, Soboce.

"The company has decided to pull out of the Misicuni project and the
distribution of water in Cochabamba," Luis Uzin, superintendent of basic

sanitation, said after meeting with Geoffrey Thorpe, chief executive of
the consortium.

During the protests over the past week, farmers unions set up roadblocks

on several national highways in five of the nine provinces.

An army captain and two civilians died in clashes on Sunday in the town
of
Achacachi on the Bolivian high plateau, the Catholic Television Network
reported. Seven people were injured in the confrontation as soldiers
tried
to remove a roadblock. The town is 60 miles north of the capital, La
Paz.

The captain was killed by protesters. One of the civilians was a peasant

fighting against soldiers, while the other was a tailor watching the
confrontation, the network said. Both were shot.

On Saturday, a teacher was shot and killed when the military tried to
clear a highway running from La Paz to Oruro that had been blocked for
five days by peasants.

The same day, a youth was killed by a bullet during violent protests in
Cochabamba.

At least 20 union and civic leaders have been arrested and confined in
an
Amazonian town under a state of emergency, which grants President Hugo
Banzer extraordinary powers in the deployment of police and soldiers,
the
police reported.

By Sunday afternoon, the military had cleared most of the routes, which
were shut off for five days, the police said, but roadblocks remained in

place near Achacachi.
_________________________________________________________________

======================

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--
Michael Perelman
Economics Department
California State University
Chico, CA 95929

Tel. 530-898-5321
E-Mail michael@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx