Water, State and the City

The author offers an innovative interpretation of large-scale urbanization, which is one of the most challenging questions affecting Latin American governments and society. He addresses the interconnections between large scale urbanization, disputes in and around the state apparatus and the persistent failures of public water services. The discussion is informed by the analysis of the concrete experience of urbanization and water conflicts in Mexico City, Lima and Rio de Janeiro. The analysis of urban water issues helps to demonstrate the politicized and constantly evolving organization and functioning of the state apparatus. Empirical results show that recent policies and investment programmes have tried to conceal the ideological and class-based goals of politico-economic reforms. Consequently, the author argues that, for meaningful alternatives to urban inequalities, we require not only a critical understanding of the connections between past and present, but also between personal and interpersonal attitudes on national and international scales of interaction.