¿Agua para todos? Differences in Access to Clean Water and a Bathroom at Home by Ethno-Racial Characteristics in Contemporary Peru

Abstract

Access to clean water and adequate sanitation at home are basic needs that have a significant impact on many dimensions of well-being. But such access is still scarce and starkly unequal for a great share of the global population, especially for those at greater disadvantage. In this study, we examine (using survey data) whether there are differences in access to clean water and a bathroom at home in Peru by ethno-racial self-identification, skin color, and indigenous first language. We find that individuals with darker skin, individuals who self-identify as indigenous as opposed to white, and individuals whose first language is an indigenous language have lesser access to these basic needs. These differences are useful to problematize the inefficient neoliberal management of water and sanitation in Peru, and the indifference of the state and the public sphere to discrimination against indigenous populations and Afro-descendants.