Financialisation and neoliberalism: The case of water provision in Portugal

Abstract

The study analyses the evolution of water provision in Portugal. It argues that the Portuguese water system of provision is deeply marked by the process of financialisation of the Portuguese economy, leading to high levels of private indebtedness that sustained a neoliberal agenda until the crisis of 2008-09. The history of the neoliberal transformation of water provision in Portugal is examined, paying particular attention to the progress achieved and the transformations occurring in its business model and finances, including the role of different agents in these processes. The neoliberal transformation of the Portuguese system of water provision is then set against the effects of the recent economic crisis. It concludes that the recent progress in the water SoP has been interrupted through a halt in investment and pressure for higher tariffs which, in a context of declining disposable income, intensifies social vulnerability.