Farmers clog city streets
The week's news at a glance.
Lima, Peru
Thousands of farmers marched into Peru’s capital this week to protest restrictions on the cultivation of coca, the plant used to make cocaine. The demonstrators walked for a week to get to Lima from the jungle areas where coca thrives. The government is demanding that the growers cut back on coca crops to help in the war on drugs. But coca is the main cash crop for thousands of Peruvians. Farmers say they can’t afford to switch to cheaper crops such as bananas and coffee without government subsidies. “We are against drug trafficking,” said Marisela Guillen, a leader of the group. “We just want to survive.”
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Subscribe to 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.
-
What should you be stockpiling for 'World War Three'?
In the Spotlight Britons advised to prepare after the EU tells its citizens to have an emergency kit just in case
By Elizabeth Carr-Ellis, The Week UK Published
-
Carnivore diet: why people are eating only meat
The Explainer 'Meatfluencers' are taking social media by storm but experts warn meat-only diets have health consequences
By Elizabeth Carr-Ellis, The Week UK Published
-
Scientists want to fight malaria by poisoning mosquitoes with human blood
Under the radar Drugging the bugs
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published