Socio-Ecological Dimension Water Distribution as an Indicator of Social Inequality. The Case of Medellín, Colombia

In Latin America, one of the countries most severely affected by uneven distribution of water resources is Colombia where almost 30 per cent of the population has no access to this vital source, despite of the country’s water wealth. This research addresses the phenomenon of water distribution in Medellín, Colombia’s second biggest city. Medellín is an ideal case to examine due to the fact that the appropriation of water resources in both urban and rural areas has become one of the greatest sources of social and environmental conflicts while international actors are becoming significant contributors to this new emerging situation. Since 2004, the city has reported a rapid growth of desconectados (people disconnected from water supply) in the poorest neighborhoods as a result of the exorbitant increase in the water tariffs. One of the main causes of this problem is the accelerated process of modernization and expansion carried out by Colombia's largest public utility company- Empresas Públicas de Medellín (EPM) in order to increase its competitiveness in the international market. Additionally, the recent involvement of the private sector in distribution of water in rural areas posses a threat to traditional forms of water supply managed by acueductos comunitarios (water-user associations). As response to the current situation, a broad coalition of social movements formed in 2006 the Comisión Nacional en Defensa del Agua y de la Vida (National Committee for the Defense of Water and Life), to promote a national water referendum to defend water as a human right. The Committee mobilized more than 2 million citizens and incorporated around 1.500 organizations. This research, therefore, explores the existing power relations though which uneven distribution of water resources is produced and maintained and how different social groups manage, confront and adapt within the changing political and economic system. Furthermore, it analyses new emerging social movements against privatization of water resources in Colombia and the discursive character of their politics. 21