Colombian community challenges corporate water extraction amid drought and systemic inequality
Original framing: “‘This is what I was born for’: the drought-ridden Colombian town that took on Coca-Cola Femsa – and won” — The Guardian - Environment
The conflict in La Calera is part of a long history of water privatization and corporate extraction in Latin America, dating back to the 1990s when neoliberal reforms opened up natural resources to private control. Similar patterns have been seen in Bolivia’s 'water wars' and Mexico’s Coca-Cola controversies.
The conflict in La Calera is not an isolated incident but a symptom of a global system that prioritizes corporate profit over ecological and human well-being.
Indigenous and Afro-Colombian communities have long understood the sacred and communal nature of water, yet their knowledge is systematically marginalized in favor of extractive models. The resistance in La Calera draws on historical precedents of water justice movements across Latin America and beyond, and it highlights the urgent need for regulatory reform, community empowerment, and cross-cultural solidarity. By integrating scientific evidence, traditional knowledge, and artistic-spiritual perspectives, we can begin to envision a future where water is treated as a human right and a shared resource. The role of the trickster in this narrative is to expose the absurdity of a system that allows corporations to extract water while communities suffer from scarcity, and to challenge us to reimagine governance through the lens of justice and sustainability.