We examine the role of informal water vendors in the urban poor's efforts to secure safe and affordable water in the squatter settlements of Cochabamba, Bolivia. Using an economic justice framework, we evaluate (1) how informal water markets operate, (2) differences in client and vendor perceptions of distributive, procedural, and interactional (in)justice, and (3) how cooperation among water vendors impedes or assists in achieving justice in water delivery. The research includes a comparative institutional analysis of three key data sets: long-term participant-observation in water-scarce squatter settlements; interviews with 12 water vendors; and interviews with 41 clients from 23 squatter settlements. We find that informal water vendors organize themselves to safeguard distributive justice (e.g., fair pricing, good water quality), but clients are distressed by procedural and interactional injustices (e.g., unreliable and inequitable service). Our research also shows that unionized vendors are more effective than non-unionized vendors in creating and enforcing rules that advance distributive, procedural, and interactional justice. We make concrete recommendations for improving justice in informal water markets, including a larger role for unions and community consultation. We conclude that, despite challenges, the informal economy may play an important role in advancing the human right to water.
StudiesR e s u m e n Durante laúltima década hubo un cambio muy grande en las políticas bolivianas, demarcado por el rechazo a los gobiernos neoliberales y un incremento del activismo indígena. Ayni ("reciprocidad," quechua) representa nuevas posibilidades para un naciente orden económico. Exploramos el papel que las ONGs tienen en la promoción del ayni como una forma alternativa de desarrollo. Extrayendo de un análisis histórico de ayni, examinamos encuentros y desencuentros entre la retórica en ayni utilizada por ONGs y la realidad de la reciprocidad practicada en comunidades. Encontramos que los discursos de las ONGs sobre ayni, primero, amplían y debilitan el concepto, y segundo, re-conciben ayni en formas más compatibles con practicas nuevas de reciprocidad vinculadas a la comercialización y reevangelización. Concluimos que ayni ayuda a las ONGs a encontrar un balance entre diferentes corrientes de cambio social-económico, político y religioso-que han cambiado profundamente a Bolivia en losúltimos 30 años.[alternativas al desarrollo, reciprocidad, alternativas al capitalismo, antropología social, Bolivia, desarollo, los Andes]
A b s t r a c tThe last decade has seen a major shift in Bolivian politics, marked by a rejection of neoliberal governance and the ascendency of indigenous activism. Ayni (Quechua, "reciprocity") has come to represent new possibilities for Bolivia's nascent socioeconomic order. We explore the role that NGOs play in the promotion of ayni
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