In general, the water law disagreements were based on the interpretation of the law document. People protested
because they were concerned that by the force of law, the government could decide the priorities of using water and
who will have the rights ofusing water sources. The 2
nd
article of the water law said that there is no private
ownership of the water, but the 47
th
article mentioned that the national institution in charge has the ability to decide
who can have the rights to the water by giving a water use license. For instance, people were afraid that the
government would change the 2
nd
article and decided to give priorities to the mining sector instead of the
agricultural or domestic sectors [24]. Also, people were worried that the Intendencia de Recursos Hídricos (Water
Resources Administration), that was part of the ministry of agriculture, would not be named as the main institution
in charge of water resources [25].