El Salvador water bill raises tensions

Demonstrations against the approval of some articles of a water bill that is currently being drafted in El Salvador left windows smashed and a journalist injured outside the legislative assembly on Thursday.

Protesters, mostly students of the University of El Salvador, as well as members of water utility ANDA's union, were trying to enter the building and attend the public sessions that are underway as part of the water bill's drafting.

As security guards allowed one group of protesters access, another larger group tried to push in also. Security guards responded with tear gas, which led to the unrest, local press reported.

The approval earlier this week of eight articles of the comprehensive water bill caused a stir among many Salvadorans, including legislators from ruling party FMLN. Opponents argue that the bill represents the first step toward the privatization of water resources.

As basis for the bill serves the draft legislative groups of the four opposition parties submitted last year, and also considers suggestions from the private sector and local think tanks.

Opposition members of the assembly's environment and climate change commission, who are drafting the bill, have refuted the protesters' concerns and assure that nobody seeks to privatize water.

The row over the bill exposes the failure of the former legislature's attempts at getting a final draft before the end of its term, which ended last month.

PICTURED: Demonstrators protest outside El Salvador's legislative assembly in San Salvador before clashing with security forces on Thursday, June 14. CREDIT: AFP.