Dear MEL School’s Topic Readers,
Bolivia stands up to US with
coca-control policy
Force or popularity? The answer to
this question is found in one of the poorest countries in South and Central
America, Bolivia. Farmers grow coca to enjoy chewing its leaves like chewing gum
or candy to relieve stress and feel relaxed. But that’s not cocaine but coca
leaves. They’ve been growing coca for not only to enjoy the taste and flavor
for themselves but also to sell to their local market where they generate
multiple times more cash than any other produces in their farmland.
The biggest user of cocaine, the
Unite States of America, tried to reduce or eliminate this crucial drug by
sending task force to help enforce the law and fight against coca traffickers. However,
they encountered harsh resistance from the local farmers. Then the newly
elected president took a different approach allowing the farmers to grow some coca,
earning wide support from producers and users of coca, not to mention the traffickers
of cocaine.
So, enforcement by superpower didn’t
seem to win a battle against poor farmers.
Enjoy reading and learning about
this battle in a mountainous country in Andes.
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