Bolivia’s Water Law of 1999

Bolivia’s Water Law of 1999
Name	Water Law No. 2029 (1999)
Enacted	1999
Country	Bolivia
Jurisdiction	Plurinational State of Bolivia
Status	Repealed/Amended

Bolivia’s Water Law of 1999

The 1999 Bolivian water statute, enacted as Law No. 2029, attempted to regulate water resources, water supply, and sanitation amid neoliberal reform trends associated with World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Inter-American Development Bank, World Trade Organization, and North American Free Trade Agreement-era policies. It intersected with fiscal programs of the Bolivian Ministry of Sustainable Development, the Bolivian Ministry of Water Resources, and municipal authorities such as the Municipality of Cochabamba and the Municipality of La Paz, provoking conflicts involving social movements like the Central Obrera Boliviana, indigenous organizations such as the Tierra y Libertad movement, and civil society coalitions including the Cochabamba Water Wars-era platforms.

Background and Context

The law arose during the presidency of Hugo Banzer’s later influence period and the transitional administrations preceding Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada’s tenure, set against structural adjustment programs influenced by Jeffrey Sachs-style advisers, Chicago School-linked economists, and consultants from Bechtel Corporation and multinational utilities active in Latin America. Regional water scarcity issues implicated watersheds like the Amazon Basin, the Altiplano, the Lake Titicaca catchment, and river systems such as the Pilcomayo River and the Desaguadero River. International actors including USAID, United Nations Development Programme, Pan American Health Organization, and Oxfam participated in sector dialogues that framed privatization, cost-recovery, and public-private partnership models promoted by entities like Aguas de Barcelona and transnational corporations operating in Argentina, Chile, and Peru.

Key Provisions of the 1999 Water Law

Law No. 2029 established legal definitions and property regimes for water resources, specifying user rights, licensing regimes, and permitting administered through basin-level authorities patterned after models used in Chile and Spain. It included provisions on concessions for potable water and sanitation services, tariff-setting mechanisms, and criteria for private sector participation drawing on contract templates similar to those used by Bechtel Corporation and private utilities in Buenos Aires. The statute created regulatory tools for water quality standards referencing guidelines from World Health Organization, wastewater discharge rules informed by United Nations Environment Programme, and emergency allocation procedures that intersected with indigenous customary uses recognized in instruments like the International Labour Organization conventions.

Implementation and Institutional Framework

Implementation tasked national agencies, municipal utilities, and newly proposed basin boards, with interactions among institutions such as the Bolivian Tax Authority (SIN), regional water cooperatives, and private concessionaires. Regulatory oversight was to be exercised by bodies inspired by precedent from the National Water Commission of Mexico and regional regulators in Colombia and Peru. International financing via the Inter-American Development Bank, World Bank, and bilateral lenders shaped project design and conditionalities, while technical assistance from Food and Agriculture Organization, European Union, and Japanese International Cooperation Agency influenced capacity-building. Municipal actors like Empresa Pública Social de Agua y Saneamiento undertook renegotiations with firms modeled on Aguas del Tunari concession structures.

Public Response and the Cochabamba Conflict

Public opposition crystallized most visibly in the Cochabamba Water Wars of 2000, involving coalitions that included the Federación Sindical de Trabajadores Mineros de Bolivia, neighborhood committees in Cochabamba Municipality, and indigenous groups from the Quechua and Aymara populations. Protest actions drew comparisons with social uprisings in Venezuela and Argentina and received attention from international advocacy networks including International Rivers, Human Rights Watch, and Amnesty International. High-profile confrontations involved municipal police forces, private security affiliates, and mass mobilizations reminiscent of incidents in the Zapatista uprising context, generating national debates in the Plurinational Legislative Assembly and influencing discourses advanced by politicians such as Evo Morales and leaders within the Movimiento al Socialismo.

Legal Challenges and Subsequent Reforms

Following protests and litigation in Bolivian courts, the law underwent suspension, repeal, and reinterpretation through subsequent statutes and decrees associated with administrations of Jorge Quiroga, Carlos Mesa, and later Evo Morales Ayma. Legal challenges invoked constitutional claims tied to provisions in the Bolivian Constitution of 2009 recognizing water as a collective right, and cases engaged institutions like the Constitutional Tribunal of Bolivia and municipal courts in La Paz and Sucre. International arbitration and contract disputes referenced frameworks from the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes and bilateral investment treaties involving Spain and United States investors.

Impact on Water Access and Services

Effects on access and service delivery varied: some urban utilities implemented infrastructure upgrades funded by loans from the World Bank and Inter-American Development Bank, while rural communities mobilized alternative models including water committees modeled on Bolivian Aguas Comunitarias and cooperatives similar to those in Peru's rural sanitation programs. Outcomes influenced public health indicators monitored by the Pan American Health Organization and development targets aligned with Millennium Development Goals and later Sustainable Development Goals. Service inequities persisted in highland municipalities, Amazonian indigenous territories, and peri-urban settlements documented by researchers affiliated with Universidad Mayor de San Andrés and Universidad Católica Boliviana.

International and Human Rights Perspectives

International human rights bodies, including special rapporteurs tied to the United Nations Human Rights Council and committees monitoring the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, reviewed Bolivia’s water policy within debates on the right to water recognized in resolutions by the United Nations General Assembly. Non-governmental organizations like Food & Water Watch and WaterAid raised concerns about privatization and equity, while state actors argued alignment with international norms on sustainable water management advanced by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and United Nations Environment Programme. The 1999 statute’s legacy contributed to jurisprudence and policy reforms asserting collective resource rights and influenced regional dialogues in forums such as the Summit of the Americas and Mercosur-adjacent policy exchanges.

Category:Water law Category:Bolivia Category:Environmental law Category:Public policy