Water Services in the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area: How Does State Regulation Work?

Abstract

This article deals with the State regulation of drinking water and sanitation services in the Metropolitan Area of Buenos Aires. Its main objective is to identify the continuities and ruptures in State regulation during the transition from private management (1993-2006) to renationalisation and State management (2006 onwards). The concept of “State capacities” (both administrative and relational) is used to assess regulatory performance. For the administrative capacities, the correspondence between the design and resources of the agencies, as well as the differences between their formal functions and actual practices, is examined. For the relational capacities, the policies of the National Government and its interaction with both the water and sanitation companies and the regulatory and control agencies are considered. The analysis is based on official documents, legislation and statistics, company balance sheets and reports, newspaper articles and semi-structured interviews.