The tensions in Bolivia’s remunicipalised public management of water and sanitation: from the protagonism of social movements to state management

In 1990, Bolivia implemented structural adjustment policies, including the privatisation of water and sanitation companies. Years later, the private model in the cities of La Paz and El Alto encountered significant problems, culminating in the “Water War” and the subsequent exit of the private operator. This was immediately followed by a return to a remunicipalised public management model, raising expectations among the populations of both cities. The State emerged as the primary actor, gradually becoming the direct administrator of the utility, ultimately resulting in a process of statization and corporatisation of public management.