But that 2015 success now seems under threat after the Salvadoran national assembly recently took steps activists believe will lead to the privatisation of the country’s water supplies.
Water everywhere for profit in Nejapa, but few drops for local people to drink | Claire Provost and Matt Kennard Read more “They are fragile ordinances, so the companies [are] looking for a way to avoid the local councils having stronger ones,” said Santiago Rodríguez, a pastor with the Salvadoran Lutheran church who works in Nejapa and the surrounding areas.
“The danger is that the local ordinances are weakened even more.” El Salvador is one of the most water-stressed countries in Latin America; according to the environment ministry, 95% of the country’s surface water is contaminated.
Water scarcity has caused conflicts, pitting residents against companies like Coca-Cola, multinational mining company OceanaGold, and large-scale sugar cane producers.
About 42% of rural El Salvador has access to suitable drinking water, and many still have to travel hours to reach it.
For more than a decade, environmental activists there have been fighting for legislation to protect water sources and ensure residents’ rights to clean water.
Water scarcity always affects the poorest people most Andreu Oliva, university rector “What we are going to have is a country that has less and less drinking water and that has a higher percentage of contaminated water,” said Andreu Oliva, the rector of Central American University José Simeón Cañas.
“Water is going to be scarce for everyone.
It’s protected and defended.” Luis González of the Salvadoran Ecological Unit said the alliance had become one of the country’s largest protest movements in recent years.
They say other laws and reforms proposed by right-wing representatives – including one which would give the private sector more control over the National Administration of Aqueducts and Sewers (Anda) – will also lead to privatisation.