Fluid Dynamics: Politics and Social Struggle in São Paulo’s Water Crisis (2014–2015) By Isadora Araujo Cruxen B.A. in Political Science University of Brasília Brasília, Brazil (2011) Submitted to the Department of Urban Studies and Planning in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master in City Planning at the MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY June 2016 © 2016 Isadora Araujo Cruxen All Rights Reserved The author hereby grants to MIT the permission to reproduce and to distribute publicly paper and electronic copies of the thesis document in whole or in part in any medium now known or hereafter created. Author: _______________________________________________________________________ Department of Urban Studies and Planning May 16, 2016 Certified by: ___________________________________________________________________ Assistant Professor Gabriella Carolini Department of Urban Studies and Planning Thesis Supervisor Accepted by: __________________________________________________________________ Associate Professor P. Christopher Zegras Chair, MCP Committee Department of Urban Studies and Planning FLUID DYNAMICS: POLITICS AND SOCIAL STRUGGLE IN SÃO PAULO’S WATER CRISIS (2014–2015) by Isadora Araujo Cruxen Submitted to the Department of Urban Studies and Planning on May 11, 2016 in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master in City Planning ABSTRACT In late 2013, a severe drought hit the metropolitan region of São Paulo, Brazil’s most populous city and main economic center, and precipitated a water supply crisis. As water availability became increasingly strained during 2014, myriad collective action efforts by civil society actors sprung up in the city. My thesis explores this social mobilization around São Paulo’s supply crisis as a window into water politics and governance when water supply problems and solutions are unclear but have important political and service repercussions for different stakeholders. Two interrelated questions guided the research: How and why did particular forms of social mobilization around the water supply crisis emerge and develop? How did civil society actors transform their problem definitions into action strategies? I answer these questions by tracing the mobilization process of two broad-based civil society coalitions that emerged in the context of the crisis: the Alliance for Water (Aliança pela Água) and the Collective for Water Struggle (Coletivo de Luta pela Água). This analysis helps uncover underlying value disputes shaping how different actors framed problems and opportunities during the crisis. At the same time, it sheds light on the ways in which maintaining flexible problem frames and fluid relationships with one another allowed the two coalitions to reach beyond ideological stances and traditional strategies. Through fluid mobilization dynamics, they were able to either carve or take advantage of spaces for participation while still advancing particular organizational goals. While it is not clear what the long-term outcomes of mobilization will be, I argue that the efforts of both coalitions served to amplify different civil society voices, facilitate knowledge sharing about water issues, and open up channels for greater participation in water governance. Thesis supervisor: Dr. Gabriella Carolini Title: Assistant Professor of International Development and Urban Planning, MIT Reader: Dr. Lawrence Susskind Title: Ford Professor of Urban and Environmental Planning, MIT 2 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I feel grateful and blessed to have gone through this journey with the support and friendship of so many wonderful people. I am very thankful to my advisor, Professor Gabriella Carolini, and my reader, Professor Larry Susskind, for providing thoughtful suggestions, careful revisions, and helping me to find clarity in moments of cloudiness. I am indebted and grateful to all the professionals and activists in Brazil who shared their knowledge and experience with me through the course of the research. Each person I interviewed or interacted with during my fieldwork contributed to making this thesis a better work. In particular, I owe much to the members of the Coletivo de Luta pela Água and the Aliança pela Água for welcoming me into their meetings and activities, and for generously sharing their perspectives and time with me. I am also thankful to Professor Adrian Lavalle and the Centro de Estudos da Metrópole (CEM) at the University of São Paulo (USP) for providing institutional support for my research, and to Rosabelli Coelho and MIT Brazil for covering the costs of my fieldwork. It has been a great joy to spend the past two years with an incredibly talented and inspirational group of students, staff, and faculty at MIT. I am thankful for the time I have enjoyed in their company. I am especially grateful to Jenna, Anthony, Rida, Asresh, Ariana, Anisha, Matthew, and Prassanna. My life is richer because of your friendship. To Jenna and Anthony specifically, this thesis would certainly not have been possible without our insightful conversations and mutual encouragement. I am immensely thankful to Marisa von Bülow, Rebecca Abers, and Roberto Pires for their continuous mentorship and support. To my dear friends in Brazil, Pri, Neto, Taiani, Carla, Paula, Clóvis, Joana, Caio—you will always be close to my heart. Last but not least, all my love to my family, for always standing by my side. Nancy and Sidney, thank you for being my second family and providing me with a home away from home. James, thank you for walking the sunny and rainy paths on this journey with me. I am happy just to dance with you. Gui, my brother, thank you for your encouragement and for never failing to make me laugh at myself. Alex and Glória, my parents, thank you for your unending love and support. You are my eternal sources of inspiration and strength. Obrigada por tudo. 3 TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................... 9 “WELCOME TO THE CANTAREIRA DESERT” ................................................................................................. 9 “WHAT MAKES THE DESERT BEAUTIFUL IS THAT SOMEWHERE IT HIDES A WELL” ....................... 10 ANALYTICAL FRAMEWORK ............................................................................................................................ 15 THESIS ORGANIZATION .................................................................................................................................... 18 NOTE ON METHODS ........................................................................................................................................... 20 CHAPTER 2. SOCIOPOLITICAL STRUGGLES AROUND WATER ........................................ 22 MEANING IN ACTION ......................................................................................................................................... 24 CHAPTER 3. WHERE WATER PATHS AND SCARCITY MEET ............................................. 29 INTEGRATION, DECENTRALIZATION, AND PARTICIPATION: WATER LAW REFORMS IN THE 1990s ................................................................................................................................................................................. 29 INSTITUTIONAL ARCHITECTURE ................................................................................................................... 33 WATER SUPPLY IN SÃO PAULO’S METROPOLITAN REGION ................................................................... 37 SÃO PAULO, WE HAVE A CRISIS ..................................................................................................................... 42 CHAPTER 4. MOBILIZING FOR ACTION ................................................................................ 49 CIVIL SOCIETY FORCES AWAKEN .................................................................................................................. 50 DISCONTENT WITH CRISIS MANAGEMENT GROWS .................................................................................. 53 COALITIONS EMERGE ....................................................................................................................................... 63 BUT WHAT DO YOU MEAN ‘AN OPPORTUNITY’? ....................................................................................... 71 CHAPTER 5. FACING THE DESERT’S HEAT .......................................................................... 75 ‘WHERE DO WE GO NOW?’ CHALLENGES TO MOBILIZATION AROUND SÃO PAULO’S SUPPLY CRISIS .................................................................................................................................................................... 76 FLUID DYNAMICS: CONVERGENCE AND DIVERGENCE IN ACTION STRATEGIES ............................. 85 Translating and raising awareness ..................................................................................................... 86 Creating global connections ............................................................................................................... 91 Tapping into pockets of resistance ...................................................................................................... 95 Re-claiming participatory spaces ....................................................................................................... 99 CONCLUDING THOUGHTS .............................................................................................................................