Thomas Grisaffi | University of Reading (original) (raw)

Papers by Thomas Grisaffi

Visomutop, 2023

Este estudio examina el desarrollo alternativo dirigido a la hoja de coca en Bolivia con énfasis ... more Este estudio examina el desarrollo alternativo dirigido a la hoja de coca en Bolivia con énfasis en la política de "coca sí, cocaína no" adoptada por el gobierno de Evo Morales (2006-19). El artículo rastrea cómo la política de drogas ha evolucionado desde las tentativas de erradicación militarizada lideradas por Estados Unidos, pasando por los esfuerzos liderados por la Unión Europea dirigidos a fortalecer los gobiernos municipales, hasta la 'nacionalización' del gobierno de Evo Morales, que permite a los cultivadores registrados una cantidad limitada de coca. Este enfoque empoderó a las comunidades cocaleras para autocontrolarse y restringir las plantaciones de coca, fomentó la autodeterminación en la planificación e implementación del programa y abordó las causas profundas del cultivo de coca anticipando la asistencia para el desarrollo y ampliando la presencia civil del Estado. Y, sin embargo, a pesar de los importantes logros, dado el contexto general del paradigma internacional de la prohibición, existen claras limitaciones a la viabilidad de políticas orientadas al desarrollo en las estrategias de control de drogas, con fuerzas poderosas que frenan la innovación interna.

Latin American Research Review, 2024

A key element in the historically unprecedented advances in indigenous women's political represen... more A key element in the historically unprecedented advances in indigenous women's political representation under Bolivia's Evo Morales's administration (2006-2019) was the influence that women coca growers played in the rural women's indigenous organization known as the Bartolinas. Driven in no small measure by their resistance to the US-financed War on Drugs in the Chapare region, the cocaleras became both Bolivia's strongest indigenous women's organization and its most dedicated advocates for indigenous women's rights. This article contends that intersectionality-of gender, class, and indigenous identities-is at the heart of understanding indigenous women's transformation from "helpers" of a male-dominated peasant union to government ministers in the space of ten years. Not only did they effectively deploy chachawarmi, the Andean concept of gender complementarity, to advance their rights in a way consistent with their cultural identity and political loyalties, but they also benefited from the gains of a predominantly urban middle-class feminist movement even though they formally rejected the feminist movement's composition and perceived orientation.

Journal of Development Studies, 2024

Bolivia's 'coca yes, cocaine no' policy towards drug crops offers a useful lens to examine Evo Mo... more Bolivia's 'coca yes, cocaine no' policy towards drug crops offers a useful lens to examine Evo Morales government's decolonisation efforts, as unlike other government attempts, it had both local and international aspects. Using ethnographic data from the Chapare, one of Bolivia's two principal coca growing regions, this article traces how the Morales government's development policy between 2006-2019 broke with U.S.-led militarised eradication and crop substitution. Partially assisted by a European Union municipal strengthening program, coca policy was 'nationalised', permitting registered growers to cultivate a limited amount of the leaf. Unlike U.S.-financed 'alternative development', the new approach fostered self-determination, revalued coca's traditional role and front-loaded development assistance. These reflect both decolonisation goals and international development best practices. And yet, despite significant achievements, particularly in reducing violent confrontation with the state, the overarching international prohibitionist paradigm, domestic dynamics, and a steady demand for cocaine put the brakes on just how far domestic innovation in development-oriented drug control strategies can go.

Bolivia has emerged as a world leader in formulating a participatory, non-violent model in confro... more Bolivia has emerged as a world leader in formulating a participatory, non-violent model in confronting the cocaine trade. Between 2006-2019 the government limited coca production through community-level control. Our study finds that not only has Bolivia’s model proven more effective in reducing coca acreage than repression, but it has effectively expanded social and civil rights in hitherto marginal regions. In contrast, Peru has continued to conceptualize ‘drugs’ as a crime and security issue. This focus has led to U.S.-financed forced crop eradication, putting the burden of the ‘War on Drugs’ onto impoverished farmers, and generating violence and instability. At the request of farmers, the Peruvian government is currently considering the partial implementation of the Bolivian model in Peru. Could it work?

En todo el mundo, la falta de oportunidades, marginalización y desatención por parte del Estado c... more En todo el mundo, la falta de oportunidades, marginalización y desatención por parte del Estado caracterizan a la producción de cultivos empleados para la producción de drogas. Aunque estos temas se encuentran en el núcleo de políticas para el desarrollo económico y social, estos cultivos son conceptualizados principalmente como un asunto de delincuencia y seguridad (Alimi, 2019: 39). Bajo intensa presión del gobierno de los EE.UU. durante los últimos 40 años, este enfoque ha conllevado al establecimiento de políticas en la región andina que priorizan la erradicación forzosa de cultivos de hoja de coca, la principal materia prima empleada para producir clorhidrato de cocaína. Ello ha debilitado las economías locales, criminalizado a agricultores pobres y provocado violaciones a los derechos humanos mediante la legitimación del control militarizado sobre los cultivos y las drogas (Youngers y Rosin, 2005a).

Development and Change, 2022

Bolivia is a centre for drug production and trafficking and yet it experiences far less drug-rela... more Bolivia is a centre for drug production and trafficking and yet it experiences far less drug-related violence than other countries in Latin America that form part of cocaine's commodity chain. Drawing upon more than three years of ethnographic fieldwork conducted between 2005 and 2019, this article presents evidence from the Chapare, a coca-growing and drug processing region in central Bolivia, to consider why this is the case. Building from the literature on embedded economies and the subsistence ethic of peasant communities, the article demonstrates that the drug trade is part of a local moral order that prioritizes kinship, reciprocal relations and community well-being, facilitated by the cultural significance of the coca leaf. This has served to limit possibilities for the violence that is often associated with drug production and trafficking. In addition, coca grower agricultural unions act as a parallel form of governance, providing a framework for the peaceful resolution of disputes and working actively to exclude the state and criminal actors.

World Development, 2021

Between 2006 and 2019, Bolivia emerged as a world leader in formulating a participatory, non-viol... more Between 2006 and 2019, Bolivia emerged as a world leader in formulating a participatory, non-violent model to gradually limit coca production in a safe and sustainable manner while simultaneously offering farmers realistic economic alternatives to coca. Our study finds that not only has this model reduced violence, but it has effectively expanded social and civil rights in hitherto marginal regions. In contrast, Peru has continued to conceptualize 'drugs' as a crime and security issue. This has led to U.S.-financed forced crop eradication, putting the burden onto impoverished farmers, generating violence and instability. At the request of farmers, the Peruvian government has made a tentative move towards implementing one aspect of Bolivia's community control in Peru. Could it work? We address this question by focusing on participatory development with a special emphasis on the role of local organizations and the relationship between growers and the state. Drawing on long-term ethnographic fieldwork, interviews, focus group discussions and secondary research, we find that for community control to have any chance of success in Peru, grassroots organizations must be strengthened and grower trust in the state created. The study also demonstrates that successful participatory development in drug crop regions is contingent on land titling and robust state investment, which strengthens farmer resolve to participate so as to avoid a return to the repression of the past.

Latin America News Dispatch, 2022

Narcotrafficking is a bloody business throughout Latin America, but less so in Bolivia.

Latin America News Dispatch, 2020

La innovadora politica “coca si, cocaina no” del Estado Plurinacional de Bolivia, en vigor desde ... more La innovadora politica “coca si, cocaina no” del Estado Plurinacional de Bolivia, en vigor desde 2006, aporta informacion valiosa sobre los beneficios de adoptar un enfoque de los aspectos del control de cultivos relacionados con la oferta que este centrado en los medios de subsistencia sostenibles y no en la previa erradicacion forzosa. Si bien esta politica no esta exenta de limitaciones, la atencion que dedica a la asistencia social, los derechos humanos y la estabilidad economica de las familias cultivadoras de coca ha demostrado ser eficaz y sostenible para diversificar la economia y fomentar la estabilidad politica y economica. La participacion directa de las comunidades y las organizaciones de base, como los sindicatos cocaleros, en la busqueda de enfoques mas eficaces y sostenibles respecto del control de la droga ha sido fundamental para el exito de esta politica. Los elementos del programa clave de esta politica tambien se corresponden con los Objetivos de Desarrollo Soste...

Cocaine: From coca fields to the streets, 2021

The contributors to Cocaine analyze the contemporary production, transit, and consumption of coca... more The contributors to Cocaine analyze the contemporary production, transit, and consumption of cocaine throughout the Americas and the illicit economy's entanglement with local communities. Based on in-depth interviews and archival research, these essays examine how government agents, acting both within and outside the law, and criminal actors seek to manage the flow of illicit drugs to both maintain order and earn profits. Whether discussing the moral economy of coca cultivation in Bolivia, criminal organizations and drug traffickers in Mexico, or the routes cocaine takes as it travels into and through Guatemala, the contributors demonstrate how entire ways of life are built around cocaine commodification. They consider how the authority of state actors is coupled with the self-regulating practices of drug producers, traffickers, and dealers, complicating notions of governance and of the relationships between economic and moral economies. The collection also outlines a more progressive drug policy that acknowledges the important role drugs play in the lives of those at the urban and rural margins.

Contributors. Enrique Desmond Arias, Lilian Bobea, Philippe Bourgois, Anthony W. Fontes, Robert Gay, Paul Gootenberg, Romain Le Cour Grandmaison, Thomas Grisaffi, Laurie Kain Hart, Annette Idler, George Karandinos, Fernando Montero, Dennis Rodgers, Taniele Rui, Cyrus Veeser, Autumn Zellers-León

Journal of Peasant Studies, 2021

In Bolivia's Chapare coca growing region, the campesino union is the cornerstone of social and po... more In Bolivia's Chapare coca growing region, the campesino union is the cornerstone of social and political organisation that governs by a principle of 'leading by obeying'. Yet, under the Morales' government, union leaders disengaged from their bases. As a more top-down approach emerged, union-led action against excess coca cultivation and cocaine production impacted negatively on some peasant households. An ethnographic analysis of popular disaffection challenges normative ideas of 'authoritarian' rule. It also contributes to debates on how state-level interventions intersect with the goals of the social movements that put them in power.

The Conversation, 2021

A slump in world coffee prices has pushed farmers in Peru’s central jungle to rip up their plants... more A slump in world coffee prices has pushed farmers in Peru’s central jungle to rip up their plants and replace them with coca leaf – the raw material used in cocaine. This countrywide trend has driven coca leaf production close to 55,000 hectares or up to 500 tons of cocaine annually – enough to satisfy annual demand in the United States three times over.

The Conversation, 2021

Cocaina: il calo dei prezzi del caffè costringe i contadini del Perù a coltivare coca di Redazion... more Cocaina: il calo dei prezzi del caffè costringe i contadini del Perù a coltivare coca di Redazione Un crollo dei prezzi mondiali del caffè ha spinto gli agricoltori della giungla centrale del Perù a sradicare le loro piante e sostituirle con foglie di coca, la materia prima utilizzata nella cocaina. Questa tendenza a livello nazionale ha portato la produzione di foglie di coca a quasi 55.000 ettari o fino a 500 tonnellate di cocaina all'anno, abbastanza da soddisfare la domanda annuale negli Stati Uniti tre volte. Poiché le rotte del traffico di droga si sono ridotte a causa dei blocchi del COVID-19, il prezzo della foglia di coca è precipitato a metà dei suoi livelli precedenti. Sebbene si sia lentamente ripreso, ha chiuso il 2020 col 23% in meno rispetto all'anno precedente. Ma anche così, la coca offre agli agricoltori poveri più sicurezza di qualsiasi altra coltura poiché la domanda è costante. La nostra ricerca è un'analisi comparativa del commercio di coca e cocaina in Perù e Bolivia. L'obiettivo è stimolare dibattiti produttivi e promuovere la cooperazione collegando agricoltori, responsabili politici, sostenitori e studiosi in entrambi i paesi. Abbiamo trascorso mesi vivendo e lavorando nelle regioni produttrici di coca, intervistando gli agricoltori e parlando con loro di come coltivano e commercializzano i loro raccolti, oltre a parlare con i leader dei sindacati agricoli e i funzionari locali. Yusbel Almonacid Santos, un agricoltore della città di Satipo, nella giungla centrale del Perù, ha ricordato il periodo d'oro del caffè. "La gente era entusiasta del caffè", ci ha detto. "Era il fagiolo d'oro." Dieci anni fa, il prezzo del caffè era alto, con un chilo venduto fino a 2,70 dollari. Ma nel 2010 la ruggine delle foglie di caffè moltiplicata in tutta la giungla centrale e ha distrutto le piantagioni. La Banca Agraria statale è intervenuta, offrendo prestiti per aiutare gli agricoltori a ripiantare, ma subito dopo il prezzo è sceso a 0,60 dollari. Povertà del caffè La coltivazione del caffè richiede agli agricoltori di coltivare le piante sui pendii ripidi delle montagne tutto l'anno. Una volta l'anno, contrattano squadre di operai per portare il raccolto che poi deve essere sbucciato ed essiccato. Ogni anno i commercianti richiedono una qualità sempre superiore e più caffè registrato biologico, il che aumenta i costi per l'agricoltore. "Il caffè crea più lavoro che profitto", si è lamentato Almonacid. "Se il prezzo è di sole 5 soles (1,40 dollari al chilo)-è appena sufficiente per pagare le persone che lo raccolgono, ma per l'agricoltore non rimane nulla", ci ha detto Marianne Zavala, leader sindacale degli agricoltori locali. "La raccolta del caffè può effettivamente lasciarti in debito. L'anno scorso molte persone non si sono nemmeno preoccupate di raccogliere."

The Conversation, 2020

En meses recientes, Bolivia atravesó extensas manifestaciones públicas en contra del gobierno int... more En meses recientes, Bolivia atravesó extensas manifestaciones públicas en contra del gobierno interino encabezado por Jeanine Áñez, quien pospuso las elecciones dos veces debido al coronavirus. Su gobierno ha violado repetidamente su mandato al aprobar leyes nuevas y perseguir a sus opositores políticos, incluyendo cocaleros del Chapare, en la región oriental de Cochabamba, con quienes colaboramos en proyectos de investigación. Bolivia es el tercer país productor más grande de cocaína, una droga elaborada a partir de hojas de coca, elemento central dentro de la cultura andina. Bajo el anterior gobierno de Evo Morales, los cocaleros se beneficiaron de un programa que les permitió cultivar una parcela de coca con una extensión máxima de 2.500 metros (un Cato), y activamente impulsó a los productores a monitorearse entre ellos para que estos límites se respeten. Esta política, que hacía énfasis en la participación comunitaria y el respeto hacia los derechos humanos, fue aplaudida y financiada por la Unión Europea. El programa de control social de Bolivia

Bolivia has seen widespread public protests in recent months against the interim government, led ... more Bolivia has seen widespread public protests in recent months against the interim government, led by Jeanine Añez, which has twice postponed elections due to coronavirus. Her government has repeatedly violated its mandate by passing new laws and persecuting its political opponents, including coca growers in the Chapare region east of Cochabamba, who we collaborate with on research projects.

Visomutop, 2023

Este estudio examina el desarrollo alternativo dirigido a la hoja de coca en Bolivia con énfasis ... more Este estudio examina el desarrollo alternativo dirigido a la hoja de coca en Bolivia con énfasis en la política de "coca sí, cocaína no" adoptada por el gobierno de Evo Morales (2006-19). El artículo rastrea cómo la política de drogas ha evolucionado desde las tentativas de erradicación militarizada lideradas por Estados Unidos, pasando por los esfuerzos liderados por la Unión Europea dirigidos a fortalecer los gobiernos municipales, hasta la 'nacionalización' del gobierno de Evo Morales, que permite a los cultivadores registrados una cantidad limitada de coca. Este enfoque empoderó a las comunidades cocaleras para autocontrolarse y restringir las plantaciones de coca, fomentó la autodeterminación en la planificación e implementación del programa y abordó las causas profundas del cultivo de coca anticipando la asistencia para el desarrollo y ampliando la presencia civil del Estado. Y, sin embargo, a pesar de los importantes logros, dado el contexto general del paradigma internacional de la prohibición, existen claras limitaciones a la viabilidad de políticas orientadas al desarrollo en las estrategias de control de drogas, con fuerzas poderosas que frenan la innovación interna.

Latin American Research Review, 2024

A key element in the historically unprecedented advances in indigenous women's political represen... more A key element in the historically unprecedented advances in indigenous women's political representation under Bolivia's Evo Morales's administration (2006-2019) was the influence that women coca growers played in the rural women's indigenous organization known as the Bartolinas. Driven in no small measure by their resistance to the US-financed War on Drugs in the Chapare region, the cocaleras became both Bolivia's strongest indigenous women's organization and its most dedicated advocates for indigenous women's rights. This article contends that intersectionality-of gender, class, and indigenous identities-is at the heart of understanding indigenous women's transformation from "helpers" of a male-dominated peasant union to government ministers in the space of ten years. Not only did they effectively deploy chachawarmi, the Andean concept of gender complementarity, to advance their rights in a way consistent with their cultural identity and political loyalties, but they also benefited from the gains of a predominantly urban middle-class feminist movement even though they formally rejected the feminist movement's composition and perceived orientation.

Journal of Development Studies, 2024

Bolivia's 'coca yes, cocaine no' policy towards drug crops offers a useful lens to examine Evo Mo... more Bolivia's 'coca yes, cocaine no' policy towards drug crops offers a useful lens to examine Evo Morales government's decolonisation efforts, as unlike other government attempts, it had both local and international aspects. Using ethnographic data from the Chapare, one of Bolivia's two principal coca growing regions, this article traces how the Morales government's development policy between 2006-2019 broke with U.S.-led militarised eradication and crop substitution. Partially assisted by a European Union municipal strengthening program, coca policy was 'nationalised', permitting registered growers to cultivate a limited amount of the leaf. Unlike U.S.-financed 'alternative development', the new approach fostered self-determination, revalued coca's traditional role and front-loaded development assistance. These reflect both decolonisation goals and international development best practices. And yet, despite significant achievements, particularly in reducing violent confrontation with the state, the overarching international prohibitionist paradigm, domestic dynamics, and a steady demand for cocaine put the brakes on just how far domestic innovation in development-oriented drug control strategies can go.

Bolivia has emerged as a world leader in formulating a participatory, non-violent model in confro... more Bolivia has emerged as a world leader in formulating a participatory, non-violent model in confronting the cocaine trade. Between 2006-2019 the government limited coca production through community-level control. Our study finds that not only has Bolivia’s model proven more effective in reducing coca acreage than repression, but it has effectively expanded social and civil rights in hitherto marginal regions. In contrast, Peru has continued to conceptualize ‘drugs’ as a crime and security issue. This focus has led to U.S.-financed forced crop eradication, putting the burden of the ‘War on Drugs’ onto impoverished farmers, and generating violence and instability. At the request of farmers, the Peruvian government is currently considering the partial implementation of the Bolivian model in Peru. Could it work?

En todo el mundo, la falta de oportunidades, marginalización y desatención por parte del Estado c... more En todo el mundo, la falta de oportunidades, marginalización y desatención por parte del Estado caracterizan a la producción de cultivos empleados para la producción de drogas. Aunque estos temas se encuentran en el núcleo de políticas para el desarrollo económico y social, estos cultivos son conceptualizados principalmente como un asunto de delincuencia y seguridad (Alimi, 2019: 39). Bajo intensa presión del gobierno de los EE.UU. durante los últimos 40 años, este enfoque ha conllevado al establecimiento de políticas en la región andina que priorizan la erradicación forzosa de cultivos de hoja de coca, la principal materia prima empleada para producir clorhidrato de cocaína. Ello ha debilitado las economías locales, criminalizado a agricultores pobres y provocado violaciones a los derechos humanos mediante la legitimación del control militarizado sobre los cultivos y las drogas (Youngers y Rosin, 2005a).

Development and Change, 2022

Bolivia is a centre for drug production and trafficking and yet it experiences far less drug-rela... more Bolivia is a centre for drug production and trafficking and yet it experiences far less drug-related violence than other countries in Latin America that form part of cocaine's commodity chain. Drawing upon more than three years of ethnographic fieldwork conducted between 2005 and 2019, this article presents evidence from the Chapare, a coca-growing and drug processing region in central Bolivia, to consider why this is the case. Building from the literature on embedded economies and the subsistence ethic of peasant communities, the article demonstrates that the drug trade is part of a local moral order that prioritizes kinship, reciprocal relations and community well-being, facilitated by the cultural significance of the coca leaf. This has served to limit possibilities for the violence that is often associated with drug production and trafficking. In addition, coca grower agricultural unions act as a parallel form of governance, providing a framework for the peaceful resolution of disputes and working actively to exclude the state and criminal actors.

World Development, 2021

Between 2006 and 2019, Bolivia emerged as a world leader in formulating a participatory, non-viol... more Between 2006 and 2019, Bolivia emerged as a world leader in formulating a participatory, non-violent model to gradually limit coca production in a safe and sustainable manner while simultaneously offering farmers realistic economic alternatives to coca. Our study finds that not only has this model reduced violence, but it has effectively expanded social and civil rights in hitherto marginal regions. In contrast, Peru has continued to conceptualize 'drugs' as a crime and security issue. This has led to U.S.-financed forced crop eradication, putting the burden onto impoverished farmers, generating violence and instability. At the request of farmers, the Peruvian government has made a tentative move towards implementing one aspect of Bolivia's community control in Peru. Could it work? We address this question by focusing on participatory development with a special emphasis on the role of local organizations and the relationship between growers and the state. Drawing on long-term ethnographic fieldwork, interviews, focus group discussions and secondary research, we find that for community control to have any chance of success in Peru, grassroots organizations must be strengthened and grower trust in the state created. The study also demonstrates that successful participatory development in drug crop regions is contingent on land titling and robust state investment, which strengthens farmer resolve to participate so as to avoid a return to the repression of the past.

Latin America News Dispatch, 2022

Narcotrafficking is a bloody business throughout Latin America, but less so in Bolivia.

Latin America News Dispatch, 2020

La innovadora politica “coca si, cocaina no” del Estado Plurinacional de Bolivia, en vigor desde ... more La innovadora politica “coca si, cocaina no” del Estado Plurinacional de Bolivia, en vigor desde 2006, aporta informacion valiosa sobre los beneficios de adoptar un enfoque de los aspectos del control de cultivos relacionados con la oferta que este centrado en los medios de subsistencia sostenibles y no en la previa erradicacion forzosa. Si bien esta politica no esta exenta de limitaciones, la atencion que dedica a la asistencia social, los derechos humanos y la estabilidad economica de las familias cultivadoras de coca ha demostrado ser eficaz y sostenible para diversificar la economia y fomentar la estabilidad politica y economica. La participacion directa de las comunidades y las organizaciones de base, como los sindicatos cocaleros, en la busqueda de enfoques mas eficaces y sostenibles respecto del control de la droga ha sido fundamental para el exito de esta politica. Los elementos del programa clave de esta politica tambien se corresponden con los Objetivos de Desarrollo Soste...

Cocaine: From coca fields to the streets, 2021

The contributors to Cocaine analyze the contemporary production, transit, and consumption of coca... more The contributors to Cocaine analyze the contemporary production, transit, and consumption of cocaine throughout the Americas and the illicit economy's entanglement with local communities. Based on in-depth interviews and archival research, these essays examine how government agents, acting both within and outside the law, and criminal actors seek to manage the flow of illicit drugs to both maintain order and earn profits. Whether discussing the moral economy of coca cultivation in Bolivia, criminal organizations and drug traffickers in Mexico, or the routes cocaine takes as it travels into and through Guatemala, the contributors demonstrate how entire ways of life are built around cocaine commodification. They consider how the authority of state actors is coupled with the self-regulating practices of drug producers, traffickers, and dealers, complicating notions of governance and of the relationships between economic and moral economies. The collection also outlines a more progressive drug policy that acknowledges the important role drugs play in the lives of those at the urban and rural margins.

Contributors. Enrique Desmond Arias, Lilian Bobea, Philippe Bourgois, Anthony W. Fontes, Robert Gay, Paul Gootenberg, Romain Le Cour Grandmaison, Thomas Grisaffi, Laurie Kain Hart, Annette Idler, George Karandinos, Fernando Montero, Dennis Rodgers, Taniele Rui, Cyrus Veeser, Autumn Zellers-León

Journal of Peasant Studies, 2021

In Bolivia's Chapare coca growing region, the campesino union is the cornerstone of social and po... more In Bolivia's Chapare coca growing region, the campesino union is the cornerstone of social and political organisation that governs by a principle of 'leading by obeying'. Yet, under the Morales' government, union leaders disengaged from their bases. As a more top-down approach emerged, union-led action against excess coca cultivation and cocaine production impacted negatively on some peasant households. An ethnographic analysis of popular disaffection challenges normative ideas of 'authoritarian' rule. It also contributes to debates on how state-level interventions intersect with the goals of the social movements that put them in power.

The Conversation, 2021

A slump in world coffee prices has pushed farmers in Peru’s central jungle to rip up their plants... more A slump in world coffee prices has pushed farmers in Peru’s central jungle to rip up their plants and replace them with coca leaf – the raw material used in cocaine. This countrywide trend has driven coca leaf production close to 55,000 hectares or up to 500 tons of cocaine annually – enough to satisfy annual demand in the United States three times over.

The Conversation, 2021

Cocaina: il calo dei prezzi del caffè costringe i contadini del Perù a coltivare coca di Redazion... more Cocaina: il calo dei prezzi del caffè costringe i contadini del Perù a coltivare coca di Redazione Un crollo dei prezzi mondiali del caffè ha spinto gli agricoltori della giungla centrale del Perù a sradicare le loro piante e sostituirle con foglie di coca, la materia prima utilizzata nella cocaina. Questa tendenza a livello nazionale ha portato la produzione di foglie di coca a quasi 55.000 ettari o fino a 500 tonnellate di cocaina all'anno, abbastanza da soddisfare la domanda annuale negli Stati Uniti tre volte. Poiché le rotte del traffico di droga si sono ridotte a causa dei blocchi del COVID-19, il prezzo della foglia di coca è precipitato a metà dei suoi livelli precedenti. Sebbene si sia lentamente ripreso, ha chiuso il 2020 col 23% in meno rispetto all'anno precedente. Ma anche così, la coca offre agli agricoltori poveri più sicurezza di qualsiasi altra coltura poiché la domanda è costante. La nostra ricerca è un'analisi comparativa del commercio di coca e cocaina in Perù e Bolivia. L'obiettivo è stimolare dibattiti produttivi e promuovere la cooperazione collegando agricoltori, responsabili politici, sostenitori e studiosi in entrambi i paesi. Abbiamo trascorso mesi vivendo e lavorando nelle regioni produttrici di coca, intervistando gli agricoltori e parlando con loro di come coltivano e commercializzano i loro raccolti, oltre a parlare con i leader dei sindacati agricoli e i funzionari locali. Yusbel Almonacid Santos, un agricoltore della città di Satipo, nella giungla centrale del Perù, ha ricordato il periodo d'oro del caffè. "La gente era entusiasta del caffè", ci ha detto. "Era il fagiolo d'oro." Dieci anni fa, il prezzo del caffè era alto, con un chilo venduto fino a 2,70 dollari. Ma nel 2010 la ruggine delle foglie di caffè moltiplicata in tutta la giungla centrale e ha distrutto le piantagioni. La Banca Agraria statale è intervenuta, offrendo prestiti per aiutare gli agricoltori a ripiantare, ma subito dopo il prezzo è sceso a 0,60 dollari. Povertà del caffè La coltivazione del caffè richiede agli agricoltori di coltivare le piante sui pendii ripidi delle montagne tutto l'anno. Una volta l'anno, contrattano squadre di operai per portare il raccolto che poi deve essere sbucciato ed essiccato. Ogni anno i commercianti richiedono una qualità sempre superiore e più caffè registrato biologico, il che aumenta i costi per l'agricoltore. "Il caffè crea più lavoro che profitto", si è lamentato Almonacid. "Se il prezzo è di sole 5 soles (1,40 dollari al chilo)-è appena sufficiente per pagare le persone che lo raccolgono, ma per l'agricoltore non rimane nulla", ci ha detto Marianne Zavala, leader sindacale degli agricoltori locali. "La raccolta del caffè può effettivamente lasciarti in debito. L'anno scorso molte persone non si sono nemmeno preoccupate di raccogliere."

The Conversation, 2020

En meses recientes, Bolivia atravesó extensas manifestaciones públicas en contra del gobierno int... more En meses recientes, Bolivia atravesó extensas manifestaciones públicas en contra del gobierno interino encabezado por Jeanine Áñez, quien pospuso las elecciones dos veces debido al coronavirus. Su gobierno ha violado repetidamente su mandato al aprobar leyes nuevas y perseguir a sus opositores políticos, incluyendo cocaleros del Chapare, en la región oriental de Cochabamba, con quienes colaboramos en proyectos de investigación. Bolivia es el tercer país productor más grande de cocaína, una droga elaborada a partir de hojas de coca, elemento central dentro de la cultura andina. Bajo el anterior gobierno de Evo Morales, los cocaleros se beneficiaron de un programa que les permitió cultivar una parcela de coca con una extensión máxima de 2.500 metros (un Cato), y activamente impulsó a los productores a monitorearse entre ellos para que estos límites se respeten. Esta política, que hacía énfasis en la participación comunitaria y el respeto hacia los derechos humanos, fue aplaudida y financiada por la Unión Europea. El programa de control social de Bolivia

Bolivia has seen widespread public protests in recent months against the interim government, led ... more Bolivia has seen widespread public protests in recent months against the interim government, led by Jeanine Añez, which has twice postponed elections due to coronavirus. Her government has repeatedly violated its mandate by passing new laws and persecuting its political opponents, including coca growers in the Chapare region east of Cochabamba, who we collaborate with on research projects.

Bulletin on Narcotics , 2017

Bolivia’s innovative ‘coca yes, cocaine no’ policy, in place since 2006, provides valuable insigh... more Bolivia’s innovative ‘coca yes, cocaine no’ policy, in place since 2006, provides valuable insight into the benefits of a sustainable livelihoods approach to supply side drug crop control without prior forced eradication. While the policy has inevitable limitations, its focus on the social welfare, human rights and economic stability of coca farming families has proven effective and sustainable in diversifying the economy and fostering political and economic stability. The direct participation of communities, and grassroots organizations such as the coca growers’ unions, in finding more effective and sustainable approaches to drug control have been crucial elements in its success. The policy’s key program elements also correspond with the Sustainable Development Goals adopted by the United Nations in 2015.

https://www.unodc.org/documents/data-and-analysis/bulletin/2017/Bulletin_on_Narcotics_V1705843.pdf

For over two decades the US has funded repressive forced coca eradication in Peru, Colombia and B... more For over two decades the US has funded repressive forced coca eradication in Peru, Colombia and Bolivia to reduce the illegal cocaine trade. These policies have never met their stated goals and have generated violence and poverty. In 2006 Bolivia definitively broke with the US anti-narcotics model, replacing the militarized eradication of coca crops with a community-based coca control strategy. The program substantially reduced the coca crop while simultaneously respecting human rights and allowing farmers to diversify their livelihoods. This article outlines the elements of the Bolivian initiative that ensure its continued successful functioning. It explores to what extent this model can be translated to other Andean contexts.