Tambien La Lluvia

"How long will you remember that water is yuka?"

I saw this movie last year at the Toronto International Film Festival, and was completely blown away by it. My sister is a film major and she usually volunteers for TIFF (she is now an intern with Reel World Film Festival, also in Toronto). She carefully selects the movies we will see (and pay for with her volunteer vouchers!) - and this was one of them.

Although I saw it a year ago, I've been thinking about it a lot lately as I try to pull together my international investment law paper; so I thought I'd take a little break from ICSID decisions to encourage you to see it too!

Tambien La Lluvia juxtaposes the civil unrest in Bolivia following Aguas del Tunari's activities that impacted on supply, affordability and access to water with the fictitious filming of a movie about the colonization of Bolivia. The film crew hires indigenous locals as extras in their film, including the protagonist who is directly involved in the Cochabamba protests.

The tones of neocolonialism and present day echoes of imperialism are still clear - especially in scenes that seem far removed from the current conflict. The one that got me the most (slight SPOILERS) is when they are filming a scene wherein indigenous women are meant to "drown" their babies. Especially in the context of water-as-life outside the confines of the movie, the tension is clear (and so touching) in the women's response to the director's request.

What does this have to do with international investment? Well, to put it briefly, Aguas del Tunari's investor, Bechtel, was a foreign or international investor (not Bolivian) who could take the State to an international tribunal (ICSID) for arbitration (and compensation for loss). Although Bechtel eventually abandoned/settled its claim, the issue of human rights and public welfare concerns conflicting with international investment treaties is still important.