Oscar Olivera, ROAR Magazine
In Latin America, the struggle for water as a common good is
present in almost all environmental conflicts—sparked by extractive,
industrial, highway and energy projects—but also forms part of the agenda of
urban and labor movements rallying against privatization, shortages, sanitation
problems, and so on.
This does not come as a surprise, since water—as a common
good and as a human right—is an essential part of our lifeworld, of how we
relate to the planet and to each other. Water to be consumed and managed by
humans; water for the reproduction of life; water as a living entity that flows
and evolves; water as a sacred being or territory: all the above are
perceptions radically opposed to water as a commodity, to water as a “resource”
or financial asset.
