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BECHTEL vs. BOLIVIA
In 1999, in a process with just one bidder, the California-based engineering giant Bechtel was granted a 40-year lease to take over Cochabamba's water through a subsidiary, Aguas del Tunari (AdT), formed for that purpose. Within weeks of taking over the water system, AdT imposed huge rate hikes on local water users. Families received water bills equal to as much as 25 percent of their monthly income. The rate hikes sparked massive citywide protests that the Bolivian government sought to end by declaring a state of martial law. More than a hundred people were injured and one 17-year-old boy was killed. In April 2000, as protests continued, the privatization contract was terminated. Today, AdT is suing Bolivia, South America's poorest country, for $25 million, for profits it wasn't able to earn as a result of the public uprising. The case is being heard by the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes, an international tribunal housed at the World Bank that holds its meetings in secret. In August 2002, Earthjustice and the Center for International Environmental Law filed a request to open these proceedings to the public. Earthjustice attorneys are leading the charge in a case that could be a preview of what is to come if the Free Trade Area of the Americas, a hemisphere-wide version of NAFTA, becomes reality. That agreement would give foreign investors the right to sue governments over laws or regulations that might diminish their profits even if they serve the public interest. |
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