Argentine Water and Sanitation (, mostly known for its acronym AySA) is a state-owned company of Argentina dedicated to supplying the public with running water and sewer services. Created in 2006 after the Government of Argentina rescinded the contract with "Aguas Argentinas", a corporate group that had granted concession during the Carlos Menem's administration in the 1990s. This way, 90% of the company remained under the control of the Ministry of the Interior, Public Works and Housing, later falling into the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Public Works when it was reformed back into its own ministerial portfolio.

AySA's operation area includes the Buenos Aires autonomous city and 25 partidos of Greater Buenos Aires. As of May 2022, the company had 8,000 employees.

History

Background

In 1824 the government of Buenos Aires, under the administration of Bernardino Rivadavia, took out an international loan from Baring Brothers to build the port of Buenos Aires and the construction of a potable water system in the city. Nevertheless, those works were never carried out.El servicio público de agua potable y saneamiento by CARLOS HERMANN GÜTTNER on InfoJus

On July 18, 1912, "Obras Sanitarias de la Nación" (OSN) was established by Law 8,889 as part of the first Sanitation Plan of 1909 under the presidency of Roque Sáenz Peña. OSN began to expand its area of operation, reaching cities outside Buenos Aires Province. By 1910, 14 capital cities of Argentina had a running water system, with four of them also including sewer system.

After Perón was deposed by the Revolución Libertadora in 1955, the investments decreased abruptly, leaving the preventive maintenance behind. From then on, only urgent works were carried out, resulting in a deterioration of the service, also affected by the rampant inflation in the country. Since the 1960s, OSN associated with local cooperative companies that supply services to small cities (less than 50,000 people each), decentralising operations. In 1973, under the Héctor Cámpora administration, a plant was built in General Belgrano to supply areas of the Buenos Aires south region. Works finished in 1975.Akhmouch A. (2004) "La privatisation des services publics argentins au coeur d'enjeux géopolitiques, conflits et rivalités territoriales. Le cas de la concession d'eau et d'assainissement dans la province de Mendoza", Tesis de Posgrado, Universidad de Paris 8, 174 p.

In 1980, all the water services were transferred to the provinces, with Obras Sanitarias focusing only in Buenos Aires.

Privatization The government of Carlos Menem carried out a plan of privatization that included OSN, granting concession to "Aguas Argentinas", a corporation group formed by French-owned Suez Environnement, and Spanish Aguas de Barcelona and Banco Galicia. The contract set a term of 20 years of concession, then extended during the government of Fernando de la Rúa.Ducci, Jorge. “Salida de operadores privados internacionales de agua en América La-tina”. BID Washington D.C., 2007

The OSN debts were not absorbed by Aguas Argentinas, leaving them to the Argentine state. OSN was dissolved in August. Through decree n° 999/92, the rates were increased 74%.Comisión de Renegociación de Contratos de Obras y Servicios Públicos: Informe Final, Fase II, Sector Agua y Saneamiento, noviembre 2002, Buenos Aires, 70 p. The service quality decreased in several cities of Greater Buenos Aires, with no new investments from the company. Maintenance works ceased in order to save costs.Jofré, José Luis. "Empresas Públicas: De estatales a privadas", on Revista anual de Sociología Nº 6, year 3, Editorial de la Facultad de Ciencias Políticas y Sociales, National University of Cuyo (2007) From May 1993 to January 2002, rates for residential user increased 88%.Privatización del sistema de agua y saneamiento en Buenos Aires : historia de un fracaso by Daniel Azpiazu and Karina Forcinito

After the 2001 economic crisis, the company suspended payments to suppliers, with USD 57 million debts in payment to suppliers and 102 million in debts to the Argentine state, plus AR$ 97 million in unpaid debts.AZPIAZU, D. 2010. "Privatización del agua y el saneamiento en Argentina: El caso paradigmático de AguasArgentinas S.A.", Vértigo magazine, serie N° 7, June 2010

Concession revoked and nationalization

According to a study by the Auditor General of Argentina, only 12% of the water was treated by Aguas Argentinas, with the rest poured to the river in Berazategui district."Informe sobre el servicio de agua corriente en la zona metropolitana", Auditoría General de la Nación. Published on February 13, 2004, p 17 After having found fraudulent invoices for non-existent works carried out and false addresses given,Quién es más trucho, Página/12, 16 Sep 2004 the contract was revoked by the Néstor Kirchner administration in March 2006.Kirchner le rescindió el contrato a Aguas Argentinas

As a result, the 90% of the company became state-owned, with a 10% handed by its employees. By 2015, sewerage system reached 7,207,546 people.ObrasHídricas más de dos millones de habitantes se incorporaron al servicio de agua y cloacas on Minuto Uno, 15 Aug 2015

In 2019, Malena Galmarini was appointed president of AySA, becoming the first woman to preside over the company.

See also Water supply and sanitation in Argentina Water privatization in Argentina

References

External links