Coca poses balancing act for Bolivia’s Arce

Significance

Both the overturning of former President Evo Morales’s government in late 2019 and the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020 undermined the ability of the authorities to reduce acreages. Meanwhile, yields are rising.

Impacts

• Bolivia will remain a minor producer of coca and cocaine compared to Colombia and Peru.
• It will continue to be an important link in the transhipment routes from Peru to Europe via Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay.
• Producers will retain a powerful say over government decisions delimiting coca production.