Move toward 'privatizing' water leads to El Salvador protests

Protests and criticism of the approval of an article on the composition of the board of a future national water authority (ANA) in El Salvador, part of a general water bill being drafted in the legislature, appear to have yielded results.

Some of the legislators on the environment and climate change committee who voted in favor of incorporating two representatives of the private sector on the seven-member ANA board are now asking other lawmakers on the committee to invalidate the measure, which critics say is a step towards privatizing water.

"I am calling on the environment committee to nullify the approval of article 14 of the water bill, related to the authority. Water is a human right protected under the constitution," Mayteé Iraheta, a legislator of right-wing Arena party, said in a tweet.

And lawmaker Gustavo Escalante, also of Arena, told a local broadcaster on Wednesday that he would change his vote.

"Due to the poor communication capacity of the [ARENA's national executive council] COENA and the mistaken popular perception caused by this disinformation, I am calling for the committee to invalidate the approval ... Water belongs to everyone," he said via Twitter.

Under the approved proposal, the authority would be made up of representatives from the ministries of environment and natural resources (MARN) and agriculture and livestock (MAG), as well as municipal governments and local water operators. The University of El Salvador (UES) would also have representation, as would the private agricultural and productive sectors. Each of the bodies would name one member.

Opponents of the bill, which include legislators from ruling leftist party FMLN, claim that it represents the first step toward the privatization of water because, among other things, it would enable private sector involvement in ANA.

ANA will be in charge of formulating technical regulations, establishing water rates, approving permits and imposing sanctions regarding water use, among other things.

The current legislature has been working on drafting the controversial water law since the beginning of its term last year. The approval of the first articles of the bill also created a stir.

PROTESTS

Hundreds of people took to the streets of San Salvador on Wednesday to protest the approval of the ANA article. The demonstrations were marked by a handful of arrests and some minor clashes with police.

Other critics include president-elect Nayib Bukele who has said the board of ANA should only include public sector representatives and members of academia.

The environment committee members of center-right Gana party, on which ticket Bukele ran and who had reportedly voted in favor of the article, told reporters that their vote was only in favor of incorporating a member of the agricultural sector.

"We, as Gana, are not in favor of the way the board will be made up, which is completely privatizing ... Water cannot be in the hands of the private sector," legislator Adelmo Rivas was quoted by local paper La Prensa Gráfica as saying.

In photo: The March 20 protests in San Salvador. (CREDIT: AFP)