(c) Bolivia: voluntary eradication With the election of former coca grower Evo Morales as President of Bolivia, the government has changed some policies. Bolivian law now allows the cultivation of a certain amount of coca bush to meet demand for traditional purposes. Members of the coca farmers` union can cultivate a small plot of land known as a “cato” (0.16 hectares) to supplement their livelihoods. This policy pacified the coca-producing region, which had already suffered violent clashes and human rights violations. Surplus crops used for cocaine production will be eradicated. Nevertheless, conflicts persist over the designation of traditional crops and eradication campaigns. “This is the first time that an acquittal in a coca leaf case has been obtained by an oral court, and it is undoubtedly also an incentive for the dedicated work, collective efforts of state institutions such as Conadi, indigenous leaders who are informed about the region, and the Office of the Ombudsman to decriminalize cultural practices involving Aymara defendants.” Of particular concern is the use of cocaine base paste in inhaled form (PBC, Paco, Bazuco or crack in Latin America), as opposed to unsubmodated crack produced from cocaine in the United States and Europe. Inhalable cocaine paste is harmful and highly addictive. Also, when sharing homemade pipes, which is often part of the ritual of smoking crack, users may develop small sores on the lips and gums that can spread conditions such as herpes, tuberculosis, hepatitis, and HIV/AIDS. Three morning bags containing 25 kilograms of coca leaves were seized at the Quillagua outpost during baggage screening on an interprovincial bus. “The verdict reflects our approach very well.
In one part, he even quotes word for word what an expert from Conadi said, which we present as proof, saying that for the Aymara festival is the presence of coca leaves such as the presence of wine and host in a Catholic mass, as well as the national anthem on flag day. The recognition granted for the first time in this region (…) With this verdict, it was clear that the Aymara, when using coca leaves, do not sell drugs, but exercise their right, their millennial custom,” said Gálvez. Despite the historical and anthropological context, the case that motivates this work is not the first to be presented in Chilean legal history. One of the best known is the striker Yatiri (healer) Juan Cutipa Morales, who was prosecuted by a criminal court in Punta Arenas for the crime of drug trafficking. In this case, an acquittal was finally pronounced.8 Another case concerns Jacinto López Vilca and Felix Salvatierra Salvatierra, Bolivian citizens, who were sentenced by the first criminal court of Calama to prison terms of 5 years and one day and three years and one day respectively for drug trafficking.9 “We fought for this moment, this historical fact, of which we are very proud, since, thanks to the officials of the Office of the Ombudsman and of Conadi as a whole, we had the opportunity to participate, thus demonstrating, understanding and respecting our Andean osmovision and the use of the coca leaves that we use every day, and that today, thanks to our Convention 169, we can be even more present. 4. Does the 1961 Convention still prohibit all coca consumption? In an attempt to achieve legal recognition of traditional uses, Peru and Bolivia have negotiated article 14, paragraph 2, of the 1988 Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs, which states that measures to eliminate the illicit demand for and cultivation of narcotic drugs “shall take due account of traditional legal uses. where there is historical evidence to that effect. In 1994, the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) – the body responsible for monitoring the implementation of the United Nations International Drug Control Conventions – found that the consumption of coke tea “is considered safe and legal in various South American countries, part of an illegal activity, as stipulated in the 1961 Convention and the 1988 Convention. although this was not the intention of the plenipotentiary conferences at which these conventions were adopted. However, in its 2007 annual report, the INCB reversed this position and called on all countries to abolish or ban “the practice of chewing coca leaves and making coca tea.” 10. What are the other options to combat cocaine use? For the first time, the oral court of Arica accepted the Public Defender`s thesis on the use of coca leaves as a cultural practice, following the presentation of expert opinions by supporting experts, Conadi and testimony from prominent witnesses from indigenous groups. Over the past thirty years, a process of migration from Bolivian border towns and the highest sectors of the Antofagasta region (especially the municipality of Ollagüe) to various urban centers has intensified.4 As a result of this process, many Quechua and Atacameños currently live in the city of Calama5 and other nearby cities.
Despite this migratory flow, indigenous traditions have remained relatively intact, with the celebration of some patronal festivals gaining importance in ancient cities. The creation of community networks, in turn, has facilitated the perpetuation of these traditions by indigenous migrants in urban spaces, including the use and consumption of coca leaves. 9. Why is the eradication of drugs and cocaine not working? Coca is traditionally grown in the Lowlands of the Andes or in mountainous regions, depending on the species, including Bolivia, Colombia and Peru. According to the court, the coca leaf trade had a clear and precise purpose: its use during a religious holiday. It is, according to the judges, this aim that gives full meaning to the idea that the defendants, who were aware of the prohibition, engaged in this conduct, since on page 6 the coca leaf they were carrying was not intended for its manufacture22 or its ephemeral sale on a local market. Para respaldar la licitud de la conducta de las acusadas, el Tribunal recuerda que todos los peritos evidenciaron el rol tradicional de la hoja de coca en el seno de las comunidades altiplánicas.23 The document analyses a case in which the legal debate focused on whether or not the transport and use of coca leaves was legal. and whose solution acquitted two Bolivian citizens of Quechuan origin of charges of illegal trafficking. Narcotics that apply by analogy in good partem a norm of indigenous law, regardless of the nationality of the accused, are implicitly and thoughtlessly based on the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.