2000 Cochabamba Protests - Aftermath

Aftermath

The mayor and the Bolivian government were wrong to insist on an expensive and unnecessary dam. But the bigger problem was that Semapa's water tariffs had been too low for too long, starving the system of investment. Had the tariffs been raised earlier, more cash would have been available to improve service. These twin failings meant that any new contract, public or private, was bound to lead to unacceptable price rises.

— The Economist