Water as a public social welfare: the privatization processes in the face of public supply in Pau dos Ferros- RN

Abstract

Water is a natural resource considered a public social good and in common use. However, nowadays this property has been compromised by the economic bias, mainly by the current privatization processes of water supply concessionaires in Brazil and in the world. Thus, the present study aims to discuss the importance of the public character of water concessionaires as a mechanism to guarantee minimally access to water. To do so, we sought to show an example of such accesses, such as the role of domestic rates for water supply specifically from a Brazilian semi-arid city called Pau dos Ferros, Rio Grande do Norte state. As a research method, it is based on the dialectic as a way of seeing the social disparities historically constructed by perverse mechanisms of society’s control and mechanisms of / for reproduction of capital. As methodological procedures, a theoretical and documentary survey was made on water as a public good. Research was carried out on the rate variation of private concessionaires as opposed to public ones, and since this mainly influences access to water for poor families. Empirically, the city's social rates were studied in the period of 2017, based on data from the Water Supply Company of Rio Grande do Norte (CAERN). Through this social rate it was found that the company reduced the links of inequalities and guarantees many families a low cost to access water. It also shows the discrepancy of the rates of public and private concessionaires. This article is expected to expand awareness of the State's responsibility as provider of water supply services and call society to the debate on the right to water.