Cambio tecnológico, privatización y recuperación de la autogestión comunitaria del riego. El caso de Senyera (València)

Processes of technological change foster the silent penetration of private enterprise in collective irrigation water management in numerous areas of Spain, and in other Mediterranean countries. This paper discusses this phenomenon through a case study of the community of Senyera (València), tracking the privatization and subsequent contestation and re-takeover of water management by irrigation system users. The article shows how privatization removes users’ autonomy and increases irrigation costs in a context of little transparency. The case also highlights users’ capacity to re-value and re-sig-
nify their past collective action, turning it into new, creative forms of self-governance.