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Morales will not push coca farmers in Bolivia

Monday, September 3, 2018

Subject

Coca politics.

Significance

Farmers from the Yungas region have demanded the resignation of President Evo Morales following clashes with police over the government's coca eradication programme. The area of land cultivated with coca has risen in the last three years, reflecting higher prices. Producers in the Yungas have long adopted a more independent stance from the government than those in the Chapare region, Morales's key social base. They have been largely successful in resisting eradication.

Impacts

  • Internationally, the government will continue to defend its position in seeking to regulate, not eliminate coca.
  • Further complaints from Washington will place continued tension on bilateral relations.
  • Until production is curbed in Colombia, Bolivia's share of world output will probably decline.

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