Social Control

Abstract

When the indigenous coca grower Evo Morales was elected president in Bolivia in 2005, he promised to fundamentally change 25 years of the U.S.-funded and dictated “drug war.” The new policy values the coca leaf and relies on local organizations to control coca production within limits set by the government. A review of its successes and limitations to date suggests that Bolivia’s experience may offer lessons for drug control in other parts of the hemisphere.