Social control and as supply-side harm reduction strategies. The case of an indigenous community in Peru

Abstract

Traditional coca uses have taken place in Peru and Bolivia from three thousand years. International organizations have urged the implementation of “zero-coca” growing policies in those countries, although without tangible results. Supply-side harm reduction strategies are currently being implemented in Bolivia, which rely on social control to limit, although not totally abolish coca growing. In this article, the different motivations for traditional coca growing are extensively reviewed, and the data from a survey conducted with 496 farmers in an indigenous community is examined, in order to provide a comprehensive overview of the coca-growing problem and to evaluate if social control could potentially influence the scale of coca growing in Peru. The results suggest that social control variables, such as attachment, involvement, and beliefs, seem to limit coca-growing areas. Those factors have been largely overlooked and may offer an opportunity to reduce coca areas if explicitly considered in anti-drug policy design.CITE AS:García-Yi, J. (2014). Social control and as supply-side harm reduction strategies. The case of an indigenous community in Peru. Iberoamerican Journal of Development Studies, 3 (1): 58-82

Erythroxylum in Focus: An Interdisciplinary Review of an Overlooked Genus

“…In 2012, Bolivia’s traditional coca-using population was estimated at around three million people [10], while in 2013, Perú’s coca-using population numbered around 3.5 million [11]. In addition, significant traditional coca-using populations are also found in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and Colombia, although their numbers are unknown [12].…”

“…Coca has a rich social, cultural and medicinal significance in the traditional South American cultures where it is cultivated and used [12]. It is employed, disproportionately by adult men, to promote individual work performance and self-discipline as well as to strengthen community ties via work-related social gatherings, “town hall” style meetings, religious ceremonies, and important life events (such as weddings and funerals), where sharing and using coca are central activities [19,20,21].…”

“…Despite the legal barriers, numerous formal and informal companies have emerged across the Andean region selling whole coca products, across food and personal care categories. These are registered by or operate through government agencies in Perú and Bolivia [12,117,119] or are licensed via indigenous authorities in Colombia [77]. In terms of food products, coca is sold as whole dried leaf, pulverized leaf, or as an infusion.…”

“…Much coca leaf today is processed into illicit cocaine. In Perú, it is estimated that over 90% of coca harvested is directed into the illicit market [12]. In Colombia, the share of the illicit market is likely even higher, as its traditional coca consuming population is thought to be vastly smaller than either Perú’s or Bolivia’s.…”

Drugs and Protected Areas: Coca Cultivation and Social Acceptance of Bahuaja-Sonene National Park in Peru

“…Later, during the republican period, traders entered the valley to extract quinine from Chinchona bark and natural latex from rubber trees until these two products began to be chemically synthetized in Europe [34]. For more information about the history of coca cultivation during the different Peruvian periods (pre-colonial, colonial, and republican periods) see Garcia-Yi [35].…”