El sistema condominial de agua potable y alcantarillado : una alternativa pro-poor?

This paper examines the condominial system in El Alto implemented through various organisations (local, national and international, public and private). Copying a system developed in Brazil, the condominial project focused on finding savings in installation costs so that the system could be copied in other Bolivian cities. The World Bank has promoted the system as a pro-poor solution because of the participation and user empowerment they claim it achieved. The paper describes the system in terms of its technologies and costs before moving onto analyse the participation and empowerment dimensions of the pilot project. It indicates that the system does provide water in poor communities and also stimulates the land market by adding value to property. It argues, however, that the 40% savings do not reflect the financial economy perspective of the users who, in the longer term, end up paying more than they would for a conventional system because of credit systems of payment and the additional costs of their own labour and time required for installation and maintenance. The paper outlines the technical problems with the system and argues that it is not empowering but rather promotes selective, instrumentalist participation. (Author's abstract)