Click here to view this joint Andean Information Network and Washington Office on Latin America report as a PDF.

The December 2005 election of indigenous leader and coca grower Evo Morales marked a major turning point for South America’s poorest country. Winning 53 percent of the vote, Morales received an unprecedented mandate for change, and he is following through on his campaign promises on a range of issues. Of particular importance for U.S.-Bolivian relations is drug control policy, where the Morales government’s framework – “coca yes, cocaine no” – seeks to distinguish clearly between coca, a plant long used by indigenous peoples for health, religious and cultural purposes, and cocaine, an illicit drug.