I believe Ann Davis was looking for further info on Bechtel vs. Bolivia.
Peter Hollings ----- Original Message ----- From: "Simon Rios" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Friday, January 20, 2006 1:27 PM Subject: [vivabolivar] FW: The Democracy Center On-Line: BECHTEL VS. BOLIVIA: THE PEOPLE WIN!! >From: "Jim Shultz" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > >To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > >Subject: The Democracy Center On-Line: BECHTEL VS. BOLIVIA: THE PEOPLE > >WIN!! > >Date: Thu, 19 Jan 2006 07:42:10 -0400 > > > >The Democracy Center On-Line > > > >Volume 69 - January 19, 2006 > > > > > >BECHTEL VS. BOLIVIA: THE PEOPLE WIN!! > > > > > > > > > > > >Dear Readers: > > > > > > > >The people have won!! > > > > > > > >This morning here in Bolivia, the Bechtel Corporation will sign an > >agreement dropping its $50 million legal case against the people of > >Cochabamba - for kicking Bechtel out in the 2000 water revolt. Instead of > >the fortune it demanded, Bechtel will fly home with a token settlement of > >two shiny Bolivian coins worth a total of thirty cents. One of the > >biggest, most powerful corporations on Earth has been defeated by an army > >of concerned citizens all over the world, including many of you. > > > > > > > >Bechtel's surrender is a historic first. Below is an article with details. > > To the thousands of people who helped wage this fight - with everything > >from e-mails to direct actions - congratulations! You did it! > > > > > > > >On another note, I am headed to the US next week to do a series of public > >talks and panels about Bolivia and events here. If you live nearby, please > >come. All these are open to the public and everyone is invited. > > > > > > > >Jim Shultz > > > >The Democracy Center > > > > > > > > > > > >WASHINGTON: January 25th - 3:15 pm > > > >The Mott House, 122 Maryland Avenue, N.E. > > > > > > > >NEW YORK: February 1st - 5:30 pm > > > >Marymount College, 211 East 71st St. (between 2nd and 3rd Avenues) > > > >The Regina Peruggi Room > > > > > > > >ST. PAUL MINN: February 4th - 9am > > > >Unity Unitarian Church, 732 Holly Avenue > > > > > > > > > > > >BECHTEL VS. BOLIVIA: THE PEOPLE WIN! > > > > > >The Cochabamba water revolt - which began exactly six years ago this month > >- will end this morning when Bechtel, one of the world's most powerful > >corporations, formally abandons its legal effort to take $50 million from > >the Bolivian people. Bechtel made that demand before a secretive trade > >court operated by the World Bank, the same institution that coerced Bolivia > >to privatize the water to begin with. Faced with protests, barrages of > >e-mails, visits to their homes, and years of damaging press, Bechtel > >executives finally decided to surrender, walking away with a token payment > >equal to thirty cents. That retreat sets a huge global precedent. > > > > > > > >The Cochabamba Water Revolt > > > > > >In January 2000 the people of Cochabamba, Bolivia woke up one morning to > >discover that their public water system had been taken over by a mysterious > >new private company, Aguas del Tunari. The World Bank had coerced Bolivia > >to privatize its water, as a condition of further aid. The new company, > >controlled by Bechtel, the California engineering giant, announced its > >arrival with a huge overnight increase in local water bills. Water rates > >leapt by an average of more than fifty percent, and in some cases much > >higher. Bechtel and its Spanish co-investor, Abengoa, priced water beyond > >what many families here could afford. > > > > > > > >The people demanded that the rate hikes be permanently reversed. The > >Bolivian government refused. Then the people demanded that the company's > >contract be canceled. The government sent out police and soldiers to take > >control of the city and declared a state martial law. > > > > > > > >In the face of beatings, of leaders being taken from their houses in the > >middle of the night, of a seventeen-year-old boy being shot and killed by > >the army - in the face of it all, the people did not back down. In April > >of 2000 Bechtel's company was forced to leave and the people won back > >control of their water. > > > > > > > >Bechtel Fights Back > > > > > >Eighteen months later Bechtel and Abengoa sought revenge, filing a $50 > >million legal action against Bolivia in the World Bank's trade court - the > >International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID). It was > >a legal forum tailor-made for Bechtel. The people of Cochabamba would be > >tried in Washington, in English, and in a process so secret that no member > >of the public or press would be allowed to know when the tribunal met, who > >testified before it, or what they said. > > > > > > > >Bechtel claimed it was suing for both its losses and the profits it wasn't > >allowed to make. Records would later show that Bechtel and its associates > >had spent less than $1 million in Bolivia. > > > > > > > >The People vs. Bechtel > > > > > >What Bechtel did not count on was the firestorm of public protest that it > >would face. Cochabamba water revolt leaders, The Democracy Center, and a > >host of allies all over the world launched a global campaign to force > >Bechtel to drop the case. > > > > > > > >Thousands sent e-mails to corporate executives. Protesters in San > >Francisco blocked the entrance to Bechtel's headquarters, occupied its > >lobby, and draped a banner across its front. Dutch activists mounted a > >ladder and posted a sign renaming Bechtel's Amsterdam office after Victor > >Hugo Daza, the 17-year-old killed in Cochabamba. The San Francisco Board of > >Supervisors approved a resolution calling on Bechtel to drop its case. > > > > > > > >More than 300 organizations from 43 countries joined in a citizens petition > >to the World Bank demanding that the case be opened to public scrutiny and > >participation. Activists in Washington DC protested at the home of the head > >of Bechtel's water company. Hundreds of articles and dozens of > >documentaries were published and produced worldwide, making Bechtel and its > >Bolivian water takeover a poster child of corporate greed and abuse. > > > > > > > >Bechtel - a corporation so powerful that it won a billion-dollar, no-bid > >Bush administration contract to rebuild Iraq - found it all more than even > >it could take. Last June, Bechtel and its associates raised the white flag > >and began negotiating a deal to drop their case - for a token payment of > >two bolivianos (thirty cents). Sources close to the negotiations say that > >Bechtel's CEO, Riley Bechtel, personally intervened to bring the case to > >and end, weary of the ongoing damage to the corporation's reputation. > >Bechtel officials flew to Bolivia this week to sign the surrender and > >collect their two coins. > > > > > > > >Bechtel's Surrender - What it Means > > > > > >Bechtel's surrender settlement is historic. The World Bank's system of > >closed-door trade courts has received more than 200 cases like Bechtel's. > >The WTO and NAFTA trade courts have their own pile of corporate cases. In > >no other, however, has a major corporation backed down as a result of > >public pressure. > > > > > > > >The public victory over Bechtel is a direct hit against the ever-tightening > >spider web of global trade rules. International financial institutions, > >such as the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, coerce poor > >countries into privatization arrangements as a condition of aid. Corrupt > >and incompetent governments sit down behind closed doors with multinational > >corporations and cut bad deals. A year later, or a decade later, the > >people finally realize what has happened. They demand a reversal and the > >companies warn, "Mess with the deal and we will take you to court - and we > >will win." > > > > > > > >In Cochabamba, people "messed with the deal" big time. They took back > >their water. The global campaign against Bechtel sends an important > >message to other corporations who are thinking of following in their legal > >footsteps, in Bolivia and beyond: > > > > > > > >"No, we will not let you wage this fight behind closed doors where only a > >handful of lawyers has a voice. We will wage this fight on your doorstep. > >We will make you defend your actions in the court of world public opinion, > >before your neighbors, your friends, and the media." > > > > > > > >One thing that corporations know how to do well is math. When Bechtel and > >its associates did the math on Cochabamba they concluded that the cost to > >the company's public reputation was greater than whatever payment they > >hoped to take from the pockets of Bolivia's poor. > > > > > > > >One again, it is clear that the economic rules of the game can be changed. > >Six years ago the people of Cochabamba won their revolt over water with > >courage and commitment. Today we have all won the water revolt's second > >and final round, with a persistence that was truly global and that could > >not be stopped. Another world is indeed possible. > > > > > > > >---------------- > > > > > > > >A note: For more information on the Cochabamba Water Revolt visit The > >Democracy Center's Web site section dedicated to it: > >http://democracyctr.org/bechtel/. > > > > > > > >______________________________________________________________________ > > > >THE DEMOCRACY CENTER ON-LINE is an electronic publication of The Democracy > >Center, distributed on an occasional basis to more than 3,200 > >organizations, policy makers, journalists and others, throughout the US and > >worldwide. Please consider forwarding it along to those who might be > >interested. People can request to be added to the distribution list by > >sending an e-mail note to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Newspapers and > >periodicals interested in reprinting or excerpting material in the > >newsletter should contact The Democracy Center at [EMAIL PROTECTED] > >Suggestions and comments are welcome. Past issues are available on The > >Democracy Center Web site. > > > >THE DEMOCRACY CENTER > > > >SAN FRANCISCO: P.O. Box 22157 San Francisco, CA 94122 > >BOLIVIA: Casilla 5283, Cochabamba, Bolivia > >TEL: (415) 564-4767 > >FAX: (978) 383-1269 > >WEB: http://www.democracyctr.org > >E-MAIL: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > > > >
