Bolivia

On the BBC, another article looking at the neglible impact of the US governement’s efforts to eradicate coca cultivation, despite spending $4 billion dollars since 2000. I especially like quote from the Office of National Drug Control Policy, who “insisted it was working” and more land was discovered to be under cultivation because the survey […]

A Uruguayan woman and an American man are being held after two small hotels were bombed in La Paz. Sounds like the bomb blast are at smaller hotels in the city, in "El Centro" of La Paz, themain downtown area. There are 2 casualties and 4 injuries from the first explosion. The blast, close to

Uh oh, coca production in Bolivia "has exploded".  Apparently, coca acreage has risien in Peru and Bolivia because of aggressive anti-drug efforts in Colombia.  So, basically the US war on drugs, specifically the coca eradication tactic, has managed to move coca production.  Hurray, must be time to ask Congress for more money to fight the

Another examples of US actions that backfired included threatening to pull all aid to Bolivia, four years ago. It has happened before. During the 2002 Bolivian elections, when Morales was a first-time candidate little known outside of the country, the U.S. ambassador at the time, Manuel Rocha, stated publicly that if Morales was elected, the

Bolivia’s president elect is on a worlwide tour visiting foreign governments including China, Cuba, Spain, the Netherlands, France, Venezuela, and brazil. The US has asked to talk to him, according to the State Department. Morales may meet with the US once he’s been inaugurated. Shannon emphasized how important it is for Washington to continue the

It still looks like Bolivians will elect Evo Morales, a coca farmer who’s promised to make coca growing legal again, as the next president.  Elections will be held on the 18th of the month and Morales has an 32.8% to 27.7% lead over the other leading candidate Jorge “Tuto” Quiroga.  Morales lost the 2002 elections

New Statesman – Hands off our gas! The battle is not really over gas, but over who calls the shots in Bolivia. And remarkably, it is the mass-based organisations, representing indigenous and peasant populations, which are setting the political agenda. Next year a constituent assembly will draw up a new constitution to incorporate them in

I’m, not sure how useful this will be in a country where most people may not have a phone, much less an internet connection. I hope the government is using other media channels to reach rural and poor consituencies as well. From the excellent analysis found at Now It’s Your Turn The Bolivian government, through

Three NGO’s argue that the United States sponsored coca eradication programs in Colomiba and the rest of the Andes do not work. Coca is compartively much easier to grow than alternative cash crops – requiring much less labor. Because it is more lucrative as well, it doesn’t make sense for a poor Andean farmer to

Fragile Bolivia Unites, for Now, on Chile Sea Spat For 120 years, Bolivia has demanded neighboring Chile give back coastline seized in a 1879-1883 war, saying that this landlocked Andean nation needs access to the sea, and therefore an easier route to world markets, to escape centuries of poverty. The issue historically resurfaces in Bolivia