Bolivia Water War Essay

The book Ambivalent Conquests, by Inga Clendinnen, is very illuminating read for anyone wanting to know more about the events between the Spaniards and the Maya peoples of the Yucatan Peninsula. The book is separated into two separate parts: the Spaniard and the Indians. In the Spaniards section, Clendinnen wrote of the arrival of the Spanish in search of gold, and the attempts of the Christianization by missionaries. The second part, Indians, covered the way the Maya viewed the Spaniards arrival and following attempts of Christianization. The overall theme of the book was the continuing idolatry by the Mayans in the eyes of the Franciscans who tried to Christianize them and the actions taken by the Franciscans as a response.

The results of the aforementioned movements have had varying results. Originally, the water revolt activist began protesting by blocking off streets of Cochabamba, refusing to pay water bills, and demanding the cancellation of the Bechtel contract. Eventually, the organizers, known as The Coordinadora gained access to meet with government leaders who betrayed Coordinadora leaders and arrested them. The people of Cochabamba were furious and began rioting, prompting the resignation of Governor Galindo and panicked Bechtel employees fled the country. Power was placed back in the hands of the people of Cochabamba and the public water company SEMAPA was created which originally cut rates for residents. However, the victory was short SEMAPA has

While addressing his men, Hernan Cortez made grand promises of honor, greatness, and riches to those who did not abandon him on his mission to conquer the natives. He vowed that the war would “bring [them] fame” and “make [them]… the richest of all men who have crossed the seas” (Document 3). In this speech alone, the main, overarching reasons behind the Spanish conquest of the New World are unveiled. Cortez’s promises of gold, glory, and God spread through the masses, creating the major objectives for the conquistadors. These three motives influenced the Spaniards’ attitudes and shaped them into ones of bigotry and disrespect, that were later morphed into the protection of the native Indians.

By the early seventeenth century, different colonies all over form Spain,England,France,and Netherland were all competing for land and trade like gold and spices around the world.Columbus was an Italian explorer who wanted to speak to their king.He had a planed to take their gold and spices and bring them back to Spain.He searched to find a way to achieve and conquer his goal “Where there a king,there is gold”.Later on in the century people who were searching for land and trade throughout the New world which began the claim to own and colonize their land.Capture of Aztec capital lead the people destruction of the city . It was then and only then that rivals started fighting over land possession and trade routes to collect riches,food and

Water Wars encourages us to save water and help out in this water crisis. Also helps us understand the politics of the water wars. This film shows the members of big companies asking permission from the government to privatize the water of certain areas. As an example presented in the documentary; Africa was asked to grow more tea crops. Firstly, Africa doesn't have water for all of their population to stay alive. Now the World Bank is asking them to use up all the water they have to drink and use it to grow the tea crops, just so Africa can return its debt to the World Bank. The content shared in the film reminds me of the book Mockingjay part 1. We are district 13, and the government is the capitol. They don't care about who

Although the Spaniards and English were greeted with hospitality, food, and gifts they still sought war because it was not enough. Zinn mentions this quote,“They willingly traded everything they owned…”, which shows that Cortes and Columbus were both greeted by the Indians with kindness. However, they both used that to their advantage tricking them into slavery and oppression. “he was so anxious to please the King that he committed

Water, like food, is a necessity for human life that is used for many purposes such as agricultural, industrial, and domestic systems. While water is a common element around the world not all of it is clean and able to be consumed or used by humans. With only a percentage of the world’s water being clean and the use of water increasing, the availability of water around the world has become a common issue in the developing and even the developed world. This may be a smaller problem in areas close to clean water sources compared to areas far from a clean water source but, the availability of water is not strictly based on location, it also depends on the specific political and social needs and issues of the area as well. These all become issues that must be accounted for when deciphering whether water is a basic human right or a commodity and what action must be taken to aid the developing water systems in community’s that lack them.

Cortes’s army of Spaniards had no respect for the Indians and wanted their belongings to themselves, while Christopher Columbus decided that he would take time with the Indians trying to teach them about the Christian religion. Cortes had first occupied the town of Cholula in 1519 with plans to kill off the townspeople. One day, Cortes

What we gained from this research was not a thorough understanding of the legislative measures that governments are taking to provide water to the citizens within their borders. Rather, we learned the general lesson that governments, regardless of their resources or political structure, are not the most reliable or capable entities to provide for human beings

While trying to adapt Native Americans to European customs, Columbus and his followers took advantage of the Indians. The Spanish burned the Natives sacred objects and would not allow them to practice their own religions. They also abused the Natives, enslaving them, taking land from them, and raping their women. Because of the conquistadors quest for gold and other riches,

Columbus’s big plan for Hispaniola since the beginning was to take advantage of the natives and take their land, and the gold he believed was located there. He built the first fort in the Western Hemisphere, and left some of his men to find and store gold there. Columbus had to ask for a little more help from their majesties, he convinced them by saying he would take them “as much gold as they need ... and as many slaves as they ask” (Zinn,6 ) Columbus’s plans affected the natives, in many ways; first of all they were going to lose their land, and also they were going to be taken captive for slave labor.

The extended view of corporate citizenship as discussed in the chapter for the privatized water companies are about the “Civil rights” of the citizen .It reveals the governmental failure to addressing the important issues in the society. In the case study some governments have acted in favor of the society by imposing fines and compensations, asking the companies to involve in different environmental programs for conservation of water also by imposing a ban on the bottled water in 12 municipal premises and supporting the corporate citizen actions.

the Catholic religion. In reality, the Spanish saw the native people not as good as them and

Economic relations and resource management, 2. Ideology and culture including the way people think about the environment and water rights, 3.political agents like the state, transnational actors and organizations involved in water disputes and trade 4.the transnational social movements which endorse and resist water privatization, and 5.the power relations which engender unequal access to safe water (Bywater, 2008).

Water is a human right, not a commodity. It is the essence of life, sustaining every living being on the planet. Without it we would have no plants, no animals, no people. However, while water consumption doubles every twenty years our water sources are being depleted, polluted and exploited by multinational corporations. Water privatization has been promoted by corporations and international lending institutions as the solution to the global water crises but the only one’s who benefit from water privatization are investors and international banks. The essential dilemma of privatization is that the profit interests of private water utilities ultimately jeopardizes the safeguarding of the human right to water. Access to clean, sufficient