Chilean presidential candidate Michelle Bachelet is wading into the sensitive subject of water rights at a time her country faces growing problems with water supplies and drought.  According to the once and likely future Chilean president, “Water is a social right, not a commodity.”

Bachelet is proposing a plan to give the government greater control of water allocation according to social needs, because the government must recognize that water is part of the “public domain, full, absolute, exclusive, inalienable, and imprescriptible.”

According to Chile's environment ministry, 73 percent of the country's water goes to agriculture, and low efficiency in the use of irrigation water is a problem.

Industry takes 12 percent of Chile’s water, mining averages nine percent, and the people get the smallest glass – about 6 percent.  But in some particularly arid areas, mines take up to 31 to 60 percent of the area’s water. 

Water privatization is a concern around the world, and Bachelet is in a good position to do something about.  Recent polls show her widening her lead of rival conservative rival.