Andean Information Network

On January 26, coca growers and their constituents gathered in cities across Bolivia to hold peaceful demonstrations in support of Bolivia’s proposed amendment to the 1961 United Nations Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs. The amendment seeks to decriminalize the traditional practice of coca leaf chewing.
Coca growers’ federations from the Chapare region gathered in Cochabamba’s main plaza [...]

On October 11, coca growers in the North Yungas region of the La Paz department organized blockades to protest a recent Bolivian government measure to limit and control coca leaf production and sales. Nine days later on October 19, protestors signed a preliminary agreement with the government and lifted blockades until November 5, allowing for [...]

On October 8, Bolivian President Evo Morales signed the “Law against Racism and all Forms of Discrimination” (O45) into effect.  Despite protests from journalists across the country, the Bolivian Legislative Assembly passed the law without modifying contested articles 16 and 23, which outline potential penalties for members of the media who publish racist or discriminatory [...]

On October 11, Bolivia’s Mining Minister Jose Pimentel stated that Bolivia plans to start production of lithium carbonate and potassium chloride for export this month, and expects a finalized product by January or February.[i] However, it is unlikely that Bolivia’s lithium carbonate will be available on the international market in the near future.
At an isolated [...]

Marcela Sanchez’ article, “Ambition’s Costs — The Ongoing Evolution of Bolivia’s Evo Morales,” published in the Latin American Herald Tribune comments on U.S. decertification of Bolivian drug control efforts, the draft anti-racism law, and ex-president’s Jorge Quiroga’s defamation sentence.  Sanchez tries to connect these disparate issues with loose analysis and apparently little research.
In less than [...]

Urban Potosí, once the richest city in South America, is now one of the poorest.  A mining center during the colonial and post-colonial eras, economic progress has been slow in recent decades and the region remains largely isolated with poor infrastructure.  Previous administrations did little to promote development in the region.  Campesino and working-class social [...]

This Tuesday, June 29, the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations will hold a  confirmation hearing for President Obama’s nomination of Mark Feierstein to head USAID programs in Latin America.   Feierstein, of the firm Greenberg, Quinlan and Rosner, served as a political adviser to former Bolivian president Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada during his 2002 Presidential campaign.  [...]

Ten initial observations:

The study cites a 1% increase in Bolivia’s coca cultivation from 2008-2009, from 30,500 hectares to 30,900 hectares. From 2007-2008, the UN reported an increase of approximately six percent.
Bolivia remains in third (and last) place for coca cultivation with 19% of the worldwide total crop.
These findings suggest that cooperative coca reduction (racionalización), which [...]

Hopefully, Assistant Secretary of State, Arturo Valenzuela’s June 1 visit to La Paz will jumpstart efforts to reach and sign a new bilateral framework agreement between Bolivia and the U.S.  A central point of contention continues to be broader transparency and ownership of development aid programs. However, it is not necessary to start from [...]

New Human Rights Ombudsman finally sworn in
Congress swore in the new Human Rights Ombudsman (Defensor del Pueblo), emeritus Methodist Bishop Rolando Villena, on May 13. According to the 2009 Constitution, Villena will serve a six year term, without the possibility of reelection. Congress chose Villena amidst debate and unfounded accusations [...]