Coca Si, Cocaina No: Evo Morales' Coca Policy in Los Yungas, Bolivia
Bolivian President Evo Morales says he's committed to fighting cocaine production and trafficking in his country.
Lindsey Mullikin, for the Pulitzer Center
The coca plant, used in indigenous cultural rituals and traditional medicines, is also the main ingredient for cocaine.
The United Nations' International Narcotics Control Board recently made the announcement that Peru and Bolivia should, once and for all, outlaw the chewing of coca.
Aired on Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's Dispatches on April 14, 2008
Shortly after winning the presidency in 2005, Evo Morales went on a whirlwind world tour and brought a few small coca leaves with him to New York.
For years, Bolivia has been considered only a transit point for cocaine — but in the last five years it has increasingly become involved in cocaine production as well.
Following the legal market of coca from the fields in Los Yungas, to the Villa Fátima market in La Paz, and finally, in the production of coca-based products.
Photos by Bear Guerra.
The U.N.'s International Narcotics Control Board said last week that Peru and Bolivia should outlaw the chewing of coca.
We left Chulumani early in the morning, looking for Hernán Justo.
The bus drops us off at the non-descript "tranca" in Chulumani -- the name given here to the place where all traffic comes to a halt, and where the trucks and buses stop to pick up passengers and
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A native of San Antonio, TX, Roberto [Bear] Guerra holds a degree from the University of Notre Dame in Cultural Anthropology.
After working for Amnesty International USA, and then teaching...
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Ruxandra is a writer and producer with experience working in radio, print journalism, and multimedia. She has reported from the Caribbean, South and Central America, as well as the U.S.-Mexico...
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Gabrielle's film making career in documentary has brought her to many places including Thailand, Cuba, Venezuela, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, Mexico and throughout the United States. She has worked...