ABSTRACT
Research on urban financialization has prioritized the analysis of what finance does in the context of industrialized countries. This chapter contributes to understanding what it is, and specifically how it emerges from the entanglements between the accumulation of intergovernmental debt, pricing and valuation practices involving state and municipal utilities, regulatory agencies and consultancies in the gradual transformation of shared into shareholder water governance in Brazilian metropolitan areas. Moreover, it provides a first illustration of how a more articulate approach between political economy and social studies of finance contributes to understanding the making of urban financialization, with a particular relevance for a context of less developed capital markets. After the introduction, the chapter is organized in three sections. The first provides an overview of the planning, governance and finance of sanitation in Brazilian metropolitan areas. The next presents a detailed investigation of the disputes over water pricing and debts, which has involved mixed-capital, majority state-owned water and sewage company (São Paulo Company for Basic Sanitation (SABESP) listed on the São Paulo and New York stock exchange) and municipal utility (Environmental Sanitation Services of Santo André (SEMASA)), owned by the metropolitan city of Santo André. The conclusion wraps up with suggestions for further research.
