Social Control and Public Water in Cochabamba, Bolivia by Nasya Sara Razavi A thesis submitted to the Department of Geography and Planning In conformity with the degree requirements of Doctor of Philosophy Queen’s University Kingston, Ontario, Canada June 2019 Copyright © Nasya Sara Razavi, 2019 Abstract During the Water War in 2000, residents of Cochabamba, Bolivia, famously mobilized against water privatization, and gained back public control of the city’s water utility. Nearly two decades later, the water movement’s vision of democratic water provision remains largely unfulfilled. The city suffers from a prolonged water crisis of chronic water shortages and uneven distribution, with most of the peri-urban areas not connected to the municipal water operator. Drawing on 18 months of fieldwork, including participant observation and in-depth interviews with water users, community leaders, policymakers, water utility representatives, government officials, scholars, and activists, this thesis explores the daily struggles for better public water services in Cochabamba. As a starting point, I return to the Water War of 2000, where mobilized citizens demanded the democratization of governance structures through ‘social control,’ a local form of public participation. I argue that the inequitable water services in Cochabamba, stratified among classed, racial, and gendered lines, are linked to weak mechanisms of public participation, which can be traced to fundamental divides amongst actors over the meaning of participation. In order to analyze how participatory mechanisms have developed, I build a typology of different kinds of participation according to their conceptualizations, intended outcomes, tools, and practices. i Applying this framework to the water and sanitation sector in Cochabamba uncovers whose interests are served, and which groups are included or excluded from access to water and decision-making. It further illustrates how, in their implementation, participatory practices are not linear and can be distorted or appropriated towards different ends. Competing perspectives of ‘social control’ and participation, weak participatory mechanisms, institutional inertia and persistent neoliberal logic have impeded transformative participation from taking hold within the municipal service provider in Cochabamba. Understanding what leads to mixed results of remunicipalization is crucial to strengthening public alternatives. ii To the people of Cochabamba, in solidarity. iii Acknowledgements This dissertation would not have been possible without the support, time, and effort of many. I owe a debt of gratitude to my supervisor, David McDonald, a compassionate and brilliant scholar to emulate. Thank you for your (extremely prompt) feedback, guidance, patience, and for the confidence. I am thankful to my committee members, to Beverley Mullings and Laura Cameron, for your endless support and enthusiasm, and to Cathie Krull, and Catherine Conaghan, thank you for your insights and comments. Thank you to Warren Mabee, Neal Scott, Anne Godlewska, and everyone who helped me and showed me kindness at the Department of Geography and Planning. I am grateful to everyone in Bolivia who made this research possible in a big or small way. I am indebted to all who welcomed me into their offices, and often their homes, and shared their time and experiences to inform this work. Thank you to Carlos Crespo for the regular discussions, sharing his deep knowledge of Bolivian politics, and for giving me a desk at CESU. I am thankful to Rocio Bustamante for her generosity with her time and expertise, and for always including me in Centro AGUA activities. Thank you to Ida Peñaranda for accompanying me on field visits, and for your friendship. Thank you also to Marcela Olivera and Red VIDA, Sam Gareca, Maria Eugenia, Doña Rosemary, Gregory Paz, Sarah, Francesca, Lee and the Bolivia Cultura staff, Carmen Ledo, colleagues and students at CESU-UMSS, Centro AGUA, and CEPLAG. Thanks to Susan Spronk for the introduction to Bolivia and fieldwork all those years ago. Gracias a mi segunda familia, Denisse, Marco, Luis, y la mamà for opening their home and hearts to me once more. La ciudad de eterna primavera alivió los momentos difíciles del trabajo de campo, con gente y momentos que nunca olvidaré, gracias eternamente, mi corázon es Cochabamba. This research was possible thanks to the International Development Research Centre Doctoral Award (107473-99906075-018) and the Queen’s University Dean Travel Award. This research was carried out following clearance by Queen’s University’s General Research Ethics Board (GREB) process (GGEO-160-13 #6011157). In Canada, to my friends and the SSBs for keeping me laughing, and to my friends and colleagues at Queen’s, thank you for the camaraderie and sympathy. Special thanks to Ashley Rudy for returning from the North. To my sister Rox, who inspires me everyday, and Leo (and Gia!), thank you for your advice and for always being in my corner despite the distance. I would not have made it through this process without Guillaume. Thank you for the constant encouragement, understanding, and care over the years, and for insisting on the cat, je t’aime. Last but by no means least, I thank my parents, Éléonore and Feri, for being my loudest cheerleaders, for always supporting me in every possible way, and for their love. iv Table of contents Abstract ........................................................................................................................................................ i Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................................. iv Table of contents ....................................................................................................................................... v List of figures ......................................................................................................................................... viii Glossary of terms and abbreviations ................................................................................................... ix Chapter 1 Introduction: Putting the focus on public ......................................................................... 1 Purpose of the research .......................................................................................................................... 7 Methodology and fieldwork ................................................................................................................. 8 Thesis outline ......................................................................................................................................... 14 Chapter 2 The prolonged water crisis in Cochabamba, Bolivia ..................................................... 17 Water sources ........................................................................................................................................ 20 Water infrastructure in Cochabamba ................................................................................................. 28 Tap/Household ...................................................................................................................................... 34 Wastewater infrastructure and disposal ........................................................................................... 40 Chapter 3 What is social control? A typology of public participation in Bolivia ...................... 45 Reformative participation .................................................................................................................... 48 Transformative participation .............................................................................................................. 55 Nominal participation .......................................................................................................................... 61 Reformative, transformative and nominal participation in Bolivia .............................................. 65 v Chapter 4 “Semapa es de los Cochabambinos” Participation and social control in the Cochabamba water sector ....................................................................................................................... 89 Water privatization and reformative participation ......................................................................... 91 The Water War and social control as counter-narrative ................................................................. 93 Nominal participation normalized ................................................................................................... 100 Defining the “new” Semapa: Early divides ....................................................................................... 103 Institutional inertia ........................................................................................................................... 103 MAS and the rhetoric of social control .............................................................................................. 117 Lasting neoliberal logic ...................................................................................................................... 126 Transformative participation in the city: “Maria Auxiliadora” community ............................ 131 Chapter 5 Participatory mechanisms beyond Semapa ................................................................... 138 Pipe dreams: The Misicuni Multipurpose project .........................................................................