Coca toothpaste? Bolivia tries to drum up demand for ‘legal’ coca products (CSM)
By Sara Shahriari for The Christian Science Monitor. Link to original article, 3 June 2013 This article explores how the coca leaf is being used to make products like toothpaste, energy drinks and snacks. While coca is famous for being used to make cocaine it actually has many medicinal qualities and is a key part of indigenous culture. … Continue reading
From Conflict to Collaboration: An Innovative Approach to Reducing Coca Cultivation in Bolivia (IJSD)
By Kathryn Ledebur and Coletta A. Youngers for Stability: International Journal of Security & Development Abstract: Upon his presidential election, Bolivian coca grower leader Evo Morales adopted a policy of promoting consensual coca reduction through social control, a sophisticated coca monitoring system, and economic development. That strategy is paying off. In 2011, coca cultivation decreased by … Continue reading
Bolivia Bulletin February 2013 (BIF)
Bolivia Information Forum, Link to February 2013 bulletin 1. Gubernatorial elections in the Beni On Sunday 20 January elections were held for Governor of the Beni, one of the largest departments in size, yet one of the smallest in population (425,780 according to last November’s census). Carmelo Lens, for a right-wing coalition called Primero el Beni, won 52.27% of the vote, with Jessica … Continue reading
Coca Licensing Is a Weapon in Bolivia’s Drug War (NYT)
Interesting analysis on Bolivia’s efforts to manage cultivation of the coca leaf (the raw ingredient for cocaine) since President Evo Morales kicked out the United States Drug Enforcement Agency in 2009. The article shows how the area of coca growing has fallen over the last few years but there are still many challenges to control … Continue reading
Bolivian Drug Control Efforts: Genuine Progress, Daunting Challenges (AIN and WOLA)
By Kathryn Ledebur (Andean Information Network) and Coletta A. Youngers (Washington Office on Latin America). Link to original article, 20 December 2012 Following a landslide victory at the polls, Evo Morales became president of Bolivia in January 2005.[i] Head of the coca-growers’ federation, Morales was a long-standing foe of U.S. drug policy, and many observers anticipated a complete break … Continue reading
Coca Leaf Cultivation Drops in Bolivia as US Criticizes anti-Drug Efforts (ICT)
Sara Shahriari, Indian Country Today, Link to original article, 8 October 2012 The ‘sacred leaf,’ as coca is often called by indigenous Bolivians, has been cultivated in the Andean region for thousands of years. In its natural state coca is valued for its power to curb fatigue, thirst and hunger, and is widely chewed for that purpose … Continue reading
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