Distinction between privatization of services and commodification of goods: the case of the water supply in Porto Alegre

Rafael Kruter Flores (1)

1 Postgraduate Program of Administration

One of the main debates regarding urban water in the last years concerns the privatization of water and sewage services. The critique of the privatization of the services is usually associated with the critique of the commodification of the good. This paper makes a conceptual distinction between both processes, reflecting on the case of the city of Porto Alegre, Brazil. The research utilized the case study method, using basically secondary data. The institution that provides the services in this city is being considered a model of a public service by many authors. However, the historical analysis of the structuring of the water supply in Porto Alegre shows that there is a process of commodification of water even if the institution remains as a public service.

Mots clés: Privatization; public services; common goods; social struggle; North/South

Domaines: Environnement et Société

Rafael Kruter Flores. Distinction between privatization of services and commodification of goods: the case of the water supply in Porto Alegre. 11th edition of the World Wide Workshop for Young Environmental Scientists (WWW-YES-2011) - Urban Waters: resource or risks?, Jun 2011, Arcueil, France. ⟨hal-00607834⟩