Water Management Policies in Latin America: From Neoliberalism to Public Governance

Abstract

This article analyzes Latin American policies for managing drinking water based on the most recent debates on governance and on the contributions of Elinor Ostrom. The first part argues that the provision of water services under neoliberal governance (market, privatization and New Public Management) did not have the expected results in terms of quantity, quality and democratic access. In this millennium, Latin America is undergoing a re-evaluation of the state’s role and the traditional forms of community water management. However, the historical weaknesses of the states, the negative consequences of the privatization of water management and the absence of policies to support community management of water access have generated a shift towards a co-production services model. This has sparked a move from neoliberal to public governance in which the state becomes a warrantor of the public goods and of water as a social right.