Cochabamba Water War

The Cochabamba protests of 2000 took place in Cochabamba, Bolivia, in April 2000. Simultaneous protests occurred in the United States, at a meeting of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank, in Washington DC. US Media critics sometimes complain that these incidents received less attention than the Monica Lewinski scandal.

In Bolivia, six people were killed and 175 injured, after military troops fired tear gas and bullets at demonstrators opposing a 35% increase in water prices imposed by the new owners of the city water supply, International Waters Limited (IWL) of London, England, which was operating locally as Aguas de Tunari. The rising costs were intended to finance the Misicuni Dam project, which was criticized for being unreasonably expensive. Protestors referred to the privatization of water in Buenos Aires, where 7,500 workers were fired and prices rose, as an example of why they felt privatization was bad. IWL officials argued that the incident was a riot, sponsored by narcotics organizations, against a crackdown on coca production.