The water is ours damn it! Water commoning in Bolivia

This article explores understandings of the commons by showing its changing definition and application in daily life. The Bolivian experience both over the centuries and since the Water War of 2000 illustrates the malleability of the term. The commons operate according to who uses it (uses) and how it has been used (customs). The 2000 Cochabamba Water War provides the historical background and context for a perceived victory for the commons over privatization, followed by the Morales government's use of a 'public ownership' campaign to usurp the power of commons from the people. The government's use of a 'public rights' framework removes the power from the people and concentrates power in the state. Confronted by successful community organizing to 'El Agua Carajo' (image by Alexander Dwinell, source photographs by Tom Kruse)