Front Lines

When the American company Bechtel tried to privatize water in Bolivia,
they helped to foment an indigenous peoples’ rebellion. That rebellion,
in turn, established an indigenous head of state who has led them in
revising their constitution to respect the rights of Mother Earth,
enabling Bolivia to act as guarantor of the implementation of the UN
Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples worldwide. In Aracaunia,
toward the tip of the southern cone of South America, the Mapuche are
rebelling against the Chilean government that is abetting a Japanese
company intent on stealing their water. As water becomes more precious
due to wasteful habits, pollution and climate change, corporations with
an eye to profit will continue looking for locations to steal; as
proprietors of much of that water, indigenous nations are, as usual, on
the front lines.