January 12, 2023, 4:00 AM
January 12, 2023, 4:00 AM
The head of state, Luis Arce, praised the quality of the coca “paceña” and its commercialization in different regions of the country. During his speech for the National Day of Acullico, after requests from the public, he barely greeted the Federation of Farmers and the producers of the Cochabamba tropics. Meanwhile, from Sacaba, without the presence of Evo Morales, Senator Leonardo Loza led an act to commemorate the millennial blade and highlight the work of the MAS leader.
“The coca from La Paz is so coveted, as they always call it. When we are in Yacuiba, there are signs on the streets that say ‘coca leaf from La Paz for sale’. We are going to the north of the country and the coca leaf from La Paz is sold, which belongs to our brothers from Yungas. And of course, quality is very important and we want to enter industrialization to give added value to that coca leaf from Yungas so that it can be consumed and chewed throughout the country, even with the declassification it can be an export product,” said the president from Plaza Murillo, in the city of peace.
September of last year the cocaleros of Yungas were confronted for control of the coca market in La Paz.
Arce announced a international crusade to remove the ancient leaf from the list of narcotics and that it can be freely marketed in the world, in order to take advantage of all the properties that the bush has. This work is in charge of Vice President David Choquhuanca.
Other projects for Yungas include construction of a research center and another on the industrialization of coca yungueña. In addition to the Unduavi – Chulumani highway whose bidding process is about to conclude.
In the act, It was striking that the president did not refer to the Cochabamba tropics, where coca leaf is also produced and whose president of the Six Federation is Evo Morales. He only briefly highlighted the industry that takes place in Sacaba.
Arce greeted the Yungas coca growers, Yungueño, intercultural leaders, Caranavi and others, but when he was about to start his keynote speech, the audience shouted: Cochabamba! and, in response, the president said into the microphone: Cochabamba also present with the Federation of Farmers!
Very close to him another voice was perceived that told him: “producers of the tropics”. The president managed to say “tropics also present”.
Both the first president and Choquehuanca, who preceded him, highlighted the work of Morales regarding the decriminalization of chewing and the recovery of cultural identity.
Despite the allusions and while Arce was surrounded by the innovators, such as congressman Andrés Flores and senator Virginia Velasco, in Sacaba there was another act organized by the hard wing of the MAS and whose central speech was delivered by the senator and cocalero leader Leonardo Loza.
“Throughout our history our coca leaf has witnessed our struggles, our sufferings, joys, tears and bloodshed. Too is a witness of having buried, together with our brother Evo Morales, different right-wing politicians Bolivian women who dared to say zero coca in Chapare and Bolivia”, stated the legislator.
He added that despite the fact that politicians from Acción Democrática Nacionalista (ADN) and the Movimiento Nacionalista Revolucionario (MNR) lost their validity, there are still “some chitacos who continue to slander us and accuse us of being drug traffickerslike Jorge Tuto Quiroga”.
The MAS authorities in Cochabamba took the opportunity to remember the violent events in Huayllani in 2019 and reproduced a video of the violations against several citizens.
