“I believe water is a human right and that we must educate children about this,” said Ana Maria Marconi as she painted a little water drop on a excited child’s face. “Water is a non-renewable resource so we need to defend and protect it as it will touch on this child’s future” she asserted.

Children and young people were at the heart of the festival “Water is life, not a commodity” which is taking place in La Paz during Blue October, a month of global resistance to defend water against corporate control.

On La Paz’s main high street, children painted rivers on the side of a bus, put together collages of water from recycled materials, and watched plays with intense concentration by young students on the struggle against water privatization. Even the boys who shine shoes, who normally spend every minute earning tiny amounts of money, stopped for a moment to paint.

Along with artistic expression that splashed out across the streets, the festival also featured packed stands with information on water along with various music and dance events featuring the best of Andean culture.

“We had a meeting in June on women and water and decided that it wasn’t enough to produce a report, we needed to get the message about water as a human right to a broader public in a creative way,” explained Elizabeth Peredo of the Fundación Solón, one of the organizers of the festival.

The festival brought together groups, from across Bolivia, who have fought successfully to defend water including NGOs, social movements, artistic and youth groups.

Lourdes Quisbert from the Federation of Campesinos from South of Bolivia spoke on the main stage about what she called a “silent struggle” to prevent the exportation of water from their region to Chile. “The media ignored us but we fought on regardless against water exports because it damages the environment on which we depend. But we persevered and won in 2004.”

Magaly Urquidy from the Bolivian Movement for Sovereignty and Solidarity-Based Integration warned that water was frequently included in free trade agreements. “To defend water, we must also fight free trade accords that try to turn this precious resources into another a commodity,” she noted.

The festival on Sunday marked the first of three days of activities in La Paz which will also feature a Video Festival on Tuesday 10th in Tambo Quirquincha Museum bringing together the best national and international documentaries on the struggles against water privatization across Bolivia. On Wednesday 11th, there will be a seminar on “Women in Defense of Water” which will include a performance of Lagun Mayu, a beautiful ballet by a Cochabamba group Atempo Danza, on the Water War of Cochabamba in 2000. 

The seminar will present some of the proposals made by women’s groups for public policies on water and for inclusion in Bolivia’s new constitution. These proposals call for the enshrinement of water as a public and social good in Bolivia’s law.

Teofila Lopez, Senator for MAS and representative of the Bartolina Sisas Campesina Federation speaking on Sunday: “Water is life so we must never allow it to be privatized” and encouraged people to get involved in ensuring the success of the Constituent Assembly so it could ensure water was protected in the new constitution.

Reflecting on the festival, Viviana Cadima from Agua Sustentable said: “There was a great atmosphere with the mix of artists, institutions and people from all walks of life, but there was also great interest from everyone in where we go from here in terms of public water policies.

“I believe the festival reflected that Bolivia is setting the standard on water in South America, articulating a social vision of water based on justice and equality. I hope that we turn that vision of water as a human right into a concrete reality for the many in Bolivia that still lack this precious resource,” she concluded.