Bolivia: Nearly a month of protests by coca growers

Protests by coca growers of the Departmental Association of Coca Producers (Adepcoca) continue in Bolivia.

The altercations with the police began at the beginning of the month, and the Ombudsman’s Office warned about the indiscriminate use of dynamite by the protesters and tear gas by the police.

Bolivia recognizes only two markets for the legal sale of coca leaves. One in La Paz, and the other in Cochabamba.

The Departmental Association of Coca Producers criticizes the opening in 2021 of a new market managed by another group of coca growers with the endorsement of the Government, unleashing the conflict between the two producers’ organizations.

The degree of tension is such that the neighbors affected by the protests came out with white flags to try to end the altercations.

Adepcoca, which is an independent organization, is led by Freddy Machicado, while Arnold Alanes leads another group of coca growers who, in September 2021, opened a market with the endorsement of the Government, a situation that unleashed the conflict between coca leaf producers in La Paz and that so far shows no signs of a solution through dialogue.

“We only want (the government) to comply with the law,” coca grower Franz Pérez told Efe, referring to the national coca law that recognizes only two markets for the legal sale of coca leaf, one in La Paz and the other in Cochabamba.

With information from AFP

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