Chapare, Bolivia
A radical Indian coca farmer has emerged as the favorite to win Bolivia’s Dec. 18 presidential election. The candidate, Evo Morales, promises to decriminalize the growing of coca, the plant used to make cocaine, and put a stop to “the endless suffering caused by the white man’s infamous war on drugs.” Coca is a traditional crop in the Andean highlands, where people chew coca leaves to relieve hunger pangs, and boil them in medicinal teas. The Bolivian and U.S. governments say Bolivian coca is increasingly being used to produce cocaine. Dozens have died in clashes between farmers and soldiers involved in a decade-old coca-eradication program.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Political cartoons for October 27Cartoons Monday's political cartoons include improving national monuments, the NBA gambling scandal, and the AI energy vampire
-
Donald Trump’s week in Asia: can he shift power away from China?Today's Big Question US president’s whirlwind week of diplomacy aims to bolster economic ties and de-escalate trade war with China
-
The Icelandic women’s strike 50 years onIn The Spotlight The nation is ‘still no paradise’ for women, say campaigners
