The Bolivian coca leaf: from cultural symbol to quest for decriminalization 

The coca leaf is part of the Bolivian identity, and its use is widespread in culture, tradition, and health.

For years, authorities have been trying to remove this plant, considered sacred by the Andean people, from the list of narcotics to promote the country’s industrialization.

The consumption of the coca leaf, which dates back to Inca times, is part of the customs of the Bolivian population: infusions, “acullico” or “pijcheo”, which means chewing, coca flour dissolved in drinks to relieve cold, hunger, fatigue or altitude sickness, or its use as a compress for blows or wounds.

Bolivian law recognizes only two markets for the legal sale of coca leaves in the country, one in the city of La Paz and one in Sacaba in the department of Cochabamba.

In 2013, a decree was also issued on using ancestral traditional medicine.

SYMBOL OF IDENTITY

Sdenka Silva, a sociologist who founded the Coca Museum in a tourist area in La Paz more than 25 years ago, told EFE news agency that there is a lot of “misinformation” because the world knows “nothing about the importance of coca (leaves)” as a “cultural axis” in Andean peoples.

Silva stressed that “an overwhelming majority of visitors” come to the museum with the “preconception” that coca leaf is cocaine and that they are reluctant to try food or products made from this plant, which is considered sacred.

Coca leaves and cocaine are like “grapes and wine,” “no one becomes an alcoholic by eating grapes,” she pointed out.

Chewing coca leaves in Bolivia “is like drinking tea or coffee” for a large part of the population, like a “mild stimulant for social consumption,” explained British-Bolivian anthropologist Alison Spedding, who came to Bolivia several decades ago and is a unionized coca grower.

In the cities, markets, or streets, half or whole bags of coca leaves are often sold, which any citizen can buy for less than a dollar.

GENEALOGY AND RITUALS

The coca leaf occupies a central place in Andean rites, especially those that refer to “Pachamama” or Mother Earth to invoke prosperity.

These rites are characterized by the setting up of a table on which pieces of wood are sharpened, on which are placed offerings in colorful shapes, and sullus or llama fetuses, which are then doused with alcohol or sweet wine and set on fire.

“The coca leaf is used to communicate with our ancestors (…) if a person is sick, thanks to the coca we know if they will recover or not (…), it doesn’t matter if you believe or not, the coca tells us,” explained Verónica, an amauta or wise Aymara, the only people allowed to perform these rituals.

THE ROAD TO DECRIMINALIZATION

The Bolivian state has been working for several years to decriminalize the coca leaf to recover its traditional use and to be able to industrialize this product on an international level.

Jaime Paz Zamora (1989-1993) was the first Bolivian president to propose “coca diplomacy” to international organizations, a concept later taken up by Evo Morales (2006-2019).

Bolivia withdrew from the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs in 2012 and returned a year later with the caveat of allowing chewing on its territory, which is why January 11 of each year is celebrated as National Acullico Day.

The traditional acullico consists of gathering a good amount of coca leaves in a cheek and combining it with bicarbonate and lye, although the “crushed” form has become popular with a hammer blow mixed with a sweetener or flavoring.

In 2017, as part of an announcement to industrialize the production of coca leaves and their export, the Morales government expanded the legal acreage of the plant from 12,000 to 22,000 hectares.

However, some of the plant’s production is diverted to drug trafficking.

Bolivia is again pushing for the coca leaf to be removed from the narcotics list and has asked the World Health Organization (WHO) for a “critical review” of the plant’s medicinal properties.

The stigma attached to the coca leaf recalls an anecdote from the 1994 World Cup qualifiers in the US when Bolivia’s Miguel Angel Rimba and Brazil’s Arqueo Zetti were penalized because traces of cocaine were found during doping control but were later found to have drunk a coca tea, so FIFA rescinded the penalty.