While the people of Spain, Greece, and England have taken to the streets to oppose the privatization agenda of global disaster capitalism, the Italians staged their own rebellion in a quieter venue, the ballot box.
While most of the mainstream media coverage has focused on the growing unpopularity of Prime Minister Silvio “Bunga Bunga” Berlusconi in local and national votes, Rich Bindell of Food & Water Watch draws our attention to a more crucial issue in the fight against neoliberalism:
Italians voted earlier this week to overturn laws established by Premier Silvio Berlusconi’s government. Voters blocked efforts by the Italian government to privatize water, reestablish the nuclear energy program and grant Berlusconi immunity from prosecution. If you’ve perused some of the articles in places like The Washington Post, The New York Times or Bloomberg, you may have noticed that most of the attention was paid to Berlusconi and his political survival. But, to many of us, the most critical element of this story is that the people of Italy do not want their water privatized.
The Italian government had initially pushed for private sector assistance to repair an aging water system, and they passed a law that would privatize water by the end of the year. But, Italians already had a poor taste of what water privatization would be like after some communities had to deal with mismanaged water resources at the hands of a few multinational corporations. Boosted by support from the Roman Catholic clergy and others who demand that water be treated as a human right, the people of Italy have called for their water to be managed by a public entity.
57 percent of eligible voters turned out to the polls and voted by an astounding 96 percent. This is certainly a victory for water advocates around the globe. Water privatization typically leads to higher consumer costs and services that are managed with an emphasis on profit over quality and safety.
Indeed, it was water privatization that sparked political rebellion in Bolivia in 2000 that would eventually lead to the election of a socialist president, Evo Morales.
We applaud the voters of Italy. Privatization of the public water commons is a critical plank in the privateer platform, one that must be resisted relentlessly wherever and whenever it appears.
eats shoots 'n leaves 