Neo-liberal Politics and European Transnational Corporations in Latin America and the Caribbean
12 junio 2008
NAME of the Transnational:
GTZ GmbH (Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit; engl: Corporation for Technical Cooperation): www.gtz.de
GTZ is one of the official development agencies of the German government. It`s a state-owned private enterprise established as a limited liability company (GmbH) according to German company law.
Sector(s) in which it works:
International Cooperation, development projects, and so-called ‘technical cooperation’
NAME(S) of the Association(s) presenting the Case:
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• FDCL (Forschungs- und Dokumentationszentrum Chile- Lateinamerika)
• Coordinadora de Defensa del Agua y la Vida, Cochabamba/Bolivia
• Federación de Juntas Vecinales FEJUVE, El Alto/Bolivia
• Asociación Nacional de Regantes y Comités de Agua Potable, Bolivia
Summary
implication of the TNC for Latin America and the Caribbean and Europe:
GTZ is actively promoting a so-called ‘German model’ of private sector participation (PSP) in the water sectors of several Latinamerican countries. A lot of these efforts are underway in Bolivia. Experiences gathered here shall be used in other countries as well.
To what extent the presented Case illustrates the systemic dimension of corporate power and lobbying, of trade/investment/debt regimes, of shaping policy making in EU and LAC:
• Development agencies like GTZ play an increasingly important role in detecting and creating business opportunities for transnational enterprises. By influencing legislation and regulation they pave the way for private sector involvement in a broad range of state sectors. In doing so, they regularly clash with social movements fighting for accessible and democratically controlled public services.
• The GTZ case exhibits the close collaboration of consultants, diplomats, government officials, development banks and European corporations, jointly pushing for investor-friendly regulatory reforms.
• The Bolivian example also provides insights into development agencies’ modified strategies, which after the series of failed privatisations turn to more gradual, steplike approaches of water commercialisation.
Which international and/or UN-Declarations, Conventions, Norms, Guidelines etc are being disrespected/violated by the TNC:
• ESC-Right to Water
• UN International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966)
• UN Millenium Development Goals
• UN Charter: Preamble and Chapter 1, paragraphs Two and Three (1945)
Country(ies) where TNC is operating:
Currently GTZ is implementing development projects in more than 130 countries worldwide. In Latinamerica GTZ is active in 16 countries: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, etc.
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