WATER AND PRIVATIZATION IN LATIN AMERICA:

THE POLITICAL-REGULATORY CONTEXT AND THE PERSPECTIVES FOR BRAZIL, CHILE AND MEXICO

Abstract

Given the problem of water in the world, the United Nations Organization in 2012 promulgated the human right to water, with priority to safe, healthy and affordable access. If, on the one hand, the literature points out that water services should be considered a public policy that falls under the responsibility of the State, since it is a public good, on the other hand, some studies positively assess the privatization processes of this vital element. In this sense, this work tries to understand the changes in the political-institutional framework of Brazil, Chile and Mexico, from the impulse of the privatization of drinking water and sewerage services in large cities. For this purpose, the role of the main actors is analyzed, the possible changes in their relationships within the corresponding system, through the mapping and measurement of the incidence of the stakeholders before and after the privatization process in each case. The role of the State in the management and planning of the water service is fragmented by the privatization process in the making in Brazil and Mexico, while in the Chilean case, the state has reduced its role only to supervising and regulating the operation of the water market.