More than 100 environmental, social and indigenous organisations protested Monday in the Chilean capital to demand that the state regain control over the management of water, which was privatised by the dictatorship in 1981.
More than 6,000 people took part in the peaceful, colourful “great carnival march for the recovery and defence of water” in Santiago, according to the organisers, one of whom was former student leader Camila Vallejo, who plans to run for parliament for the Communist Party.
The movement is fighting for the repeal of the water code, adopted by the 1973-1990 dictatorship of General Augusto Pinochet, which made water private property by granting the state the right to grant water use rights to companies free of charge and in perpetuity.
The code also allows water use rights to be bought, sold or leased, without taking into consideration local priorities for water use, the organisations complain.
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Source: IPS, 23/04/2013