海角大神

鈥� A version of this post ran on the author's blog, jbriski.wordpress.com. The views expressed are the author's own.

In many parts of the Andes, tourists can purchase t-shirts, shot glasses, coffee mugs, and all manner of other merchandise with the proud slogan 鈥渓a hoja de coca no es droga,鈥� a simple yet profound statement that means 鈥渢he coca leaf is not a drug.鈥�

The slogan itself is an indication of a deep tension between those who would use coca leaves for traditional religious and medicinal purposes, and those who would use coca to profit from its narcotic derivative, cocaine.

Nowhere is this coca-cocaine tension more prevalent than in Bolivia. For many Bolivians, it鈥檚 a matter of national identity.

Richard Craig provided some background on this in听鈥淚llicit Drug Traffic: Implications for South American Source Countries,鈥� published in听Journal of Interamerican Studies and World Affairs,听Vol. 29, No. 2 back in 1987:

Domestic policy under President Evo Morales 鈥� the听Coca S铆, Coca铆na No program 鈥� is an attempt at striking a balance between supporting traditional uses of coca leaves while cracking down on illicit production and trafficking of cocaine.

In addition to this domestic policy, some refer to the foreign policy strategy of the Morales Administration as 鈥渃oca diplomacy.鈥�

Since his election in 2006, Morales has advocated global decriminalization of traditional uses for the coca leaf 鈥� but not decriminalization of cocaine 鈥� through amending the UN Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, 1961 to remove all references to the coca leaf.

He raised some eyebrows at his first UN General Assembly in September 2006 by holding up a coca leaf as he made the following remarks:

It turned out that the new head of state had technically smuggled the听coca leaves past US Customs officials by hiding them in the book he carried with him onto the plane in order to bring them to UN Headquarters in New York.

In 2008, Morales took a stronger stand for the national dignity of the Bolivian people by expelling US Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) officials. After suspending DEA operations indefinitely in Bolivia, Morales explained that听鈥漌e have the obligation to defend the dignity and sovereignty of the Bolivian people.鈥�

The Bolivian Constitution was amended in several ways in 2009. Among other things, Bolivia is now officially defined as a听听unitary听plurinational state, or a country comprised of many different people groups, but with one sovereign central government.

But the Constitution also provides the following provision on coca in Part Four, Title II, Chapter Seven, Section II,听Article 384 (in Spanish):

This particular amendment has served to formalize the tension between international convention and constitutional law in Bolivia.

More recently, Morales made a strong statement by formally withdrawing Bolivia from the UN Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs in June 2011, effective Jan. 1, 2012, since diplomatic efforts had failed to lead to the Convention鈥檚 amendment.

The Morales Administration was careful to specify that the objection was only with the classification of the coca leaf, and that the Bolivian government听would ensure continued compliance with the rest of the terms of the 1961 Single Convention and the Protocol Amending the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs of 1972.

The coca-cocaine tension is further complicated by an economic theory known as听comparative advantage.

This principle states that when it comes to trade relations, states should specialize in trading the goods that they can produce with the greatest relative efficiency at the lowest relative cost when compared to other states鈥揼iving them a comparative advantage in that particular good.

In other words, it鈥檚 more cost effective for everyone to export what they can produce more efficiently than anyone else while importing what they can鈥檛.

Unfortunately for the Bolivian-law-abiding coca growers, the Andean Region has a clear comparative advantage in coca production. A recent report on cocaine in Stratfor鈥檚 Criminal Commodities Series explains it this way:

Under previous presidential administrations, the official policy was to promote alternative development. While this is still part of the听Coca S铆, Coca铆na听No program, alternative development is more voluntary now.

It鈥檚 a great idea to train and equip farmers to grow coffee and chocolate instead of coca 鈥� an initiative that has found great success in some regions 鈥� but coca is still easier to cultivate than chocolate and less fickle than coffee.

Given the historical context, it comes as little surprise that the Morales Administration was quick to clarify a statement by Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos.

Following the recent bilateral meetings between the two presidents, El Pa铆s reported听(in Spanish) that Santos explained a plan for a Colombian-Bolivian tag team during the upcoming Summit on the Americas:

He went on to use the phrase 鈥渨e鈥� several times as he explained plans to propose a 鈥渃omprehensive and wide鈥� discussion about the results of 鈥渢he so-called 鈥榃ar on Drugs鈥欌�� and the 鈥渄iverse strategies that we can take on together to end this scourge.鈥�

According to the El听Pa铆s article, Morales was standing next to Santos when he made these remarks.

However, the next day, Los Tiempos reported (in Spanish) that the Bolivian government rejects the debate on regional drug legalization.

Bolivian Government Minister Carlos Romero, who accompanied Morales on the trip to Colombia, explained that they had discussed many topics, one of which had been the fight against narcotrafficking. However, drug legalization 鈥渋s not the appropriate way.鈥� The Minister went on to say:

Several countries in Latin America came under听sharp criticism听from the UN in 2010 for the听trend of decriminalization听that swept through some countries in 2009.听The report stated that听Latin America was undermining the war on drugs.

This was before Santos began the process of decriminalizing personal drug possession听in Colombia (a 180掳 turn from the policy views of his predecessor,听脕lvaro Uribe)听and Guatemalan President Otto Perez Molina 鈥� whose presidential campaign was based on the promise of crushing crime 鈥渨ith an iron fist鈥� 鈥� initiated the drug legalization discussion听at the regional level.听.

President Morales is in a tight spot, facing pressure at home and abroad. As former head of the Bolivian national coca growers union, he has to show his electoral base that he will uphold the 2009 Constitution.

At the same time, he has to prove to the international community 鈥� especially the international drug control system 鈥� that he鈥檚 serious about upholding the rest of the Single Convention, even though Bolivia has officially withdrawn from it.

鈥� Jackie Briski is a Latin Americanist and author of the blog听cuando asi no sea.