A constitutional referendum on an amendment dealing with public ownership of water supply was held in

Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

on 31 October 2004 alongside simultaneous

general election A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from By-election, by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. Gener ...

Background

The proposed amendment to the

constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these pri ...

dealt with the issue of water supply and sanitation, including a statement that access to piped water and sanitation were fundamental human rights, and that :''The public service of sewerage and the public service of water supplying for the human consumption, will be served exclusively and directly by state legal persons.'' The amendment was supported by (victorious) presidential candidate

Tabaré Vázquez Tabaré Ramón Vázquez Rosas (; 17 January 19406 December 2020) was a Uruguayan politician and oncologist who served as the 39th and 41st President of Uruguay from 2005 to 2010 and from 2015 to 2020. During his political career, Vázquez was a ...

and his Broad Front coalition.

Friends of the Earth Friends of the Earth International (FoEI) is an international network of grassroots environmental organizations in 73 countries. About half of the member groups call themselves "Friends of the Earth" in their own languages; the others use other ...

also supported the move, saying it "sets a key precedent for the protection of water worldwide, by enshrining these principles into the national constitution of one country by means of direct democracy."Uruguay: Referendum Gives Resounding ‘No’ to the Privatisation of Water
IPS, 1 November 2004

Results

Aftermath

In May 2005, the government stated that contracts with private water companies would be honoured until their expiry.

References

External links

Politics Data Bank at the Social Sciences School - Universidad de la República (Uruguay)
{{Uruguayan elections Referendums in Uruguay

Constitutional A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these princ ...

Water in Uruguay

Background

Results

Aftermath

See also

References

External links