Of liquid dreams: a political ecology of water privatization in Buenos Aires

The privatization of water and sanitation in Buenos Aires has been hailed b y its neo-liberal proponents as an unprecedented success. This paper takes a deeper and more critical look than many of these accounts. It looks at po litical and economic changes within Argentina in order to explain the troub ling findings regarding the performance of Aguas Argentinas, the private co mpany that Won the concession for most of Buenos Aires. The paper begins wi th a brief overview of the political and economic context in Argentina befo re describing the process involved in the water privatization in Buenos Air es. It then discusses the outcomes, including changes in coverage and charg es to end users as well as impacts on labour and the environment. The paper describes how the promised reduction in water tariffs did not materialize (in fact the opposite occurred) and how agreed-upon targets for expanding s ewerage connections and sewage treatment were not met. It also describes ho w the national government intervened to support the water company in confli cts with the regulatory agency and even by-passed the regulatory agency whe n the water company wanted to renegotiate the contract. Finally, the role o f international financial institutions in this process is discussed.