Why Evo Morales depends on the coca leaf to run for president

Luis Arce’s government has decided hitting Evo Morales where it hurts the most will keep the price of coke lowbecause that way leaves him destitute for his campaign as a presidential candidate.

Until now, the MAS, the party to which both belong, had not openly admitted that the coca leaf, and its price, had such an influence on the electoral chances of its candidates.

Morales had protested against the government for the low price of coca given that leaf growers contribute to the labor organization Chapare, of which he is president for life.

This is Arce’s second blow to Morales’ finances: the first was to leave him without participation in the distribution of contributions that the 530,000 public officials to party every month, if they don’t want to be fired.

In response, followers of the cocalero they accuse the son of Arce, Marcelo Arce Mosqueira, of having committed five crimes of corruption since his father was president. In addition, they remember that the President’s wife was a director of the Union State Bank when he was Minister of Economy.

The confrontation between the two rivals has taken things to the point where Supporters of Morales prevent the approval, in parliament, of the measures that the Arce government needs desperately to cope with the economic crisis.

But the the judges continue to obey Morales, at least to sanction the trade union leaders of the coca planters of the Yungas of La Paz. They kept César Apaza imprisoned for two years, because he defends the interests of the region where traditional coca is produced. Now he is suffering from a severe embolism, but judges ordered him handcuffed to a hospital bed where they verified he had received corporal punishment from jailers.

Morales maintains his wish that the bishops to be taken to the prison for taking part in the pacification negotiations when he was determined to step down in the face of massive popular protest for the fraud he committed in the 2019 elections, a fraud verified by the OAS.

He accused the judges of being obedient to the Minister of Justice, Iván Lima, who dismissed the lawsuit against the bishops because they had already been called for a similar case.

The price of coca is affected by the oversupply in the markets, with shipments coming from unregistered places and also from Peruvian territory.

At that time, according to the government, there are 32,000 hectares of coca crops, 10,000 more than legally allowed. To meet the leaf’s traditional consumption demand, only the production of 6,000 hectares would be necessary, according to expert Franklin Alcaraz.

The argument invaded the carnival. Arce supporters chant in the parades: “Bolivians already told you:/Evo again, damn egg./Find a job for your thieving sons/”.

And Morales supporters reply: “Write traitors on your calendar/. Hey lawmakers, betrayal pays off. / Shut up, you’re kicked out.

Meanwhile, in Santa Cruz, the carnival was the subject of a debate between those who wanted it not to take place in protest against the arrest of Governor Luis Fernando Camacho by order of the government, and those who wanted the race to take place and be used to express protest.

The corsair ended up taking place on a secondary avenue and not in the “Cambodromo”, a place built to emulate the Sambodromo in Rio de Janeiro, and gave way to protest demonstrations against government abuses, as well as to demonstrations of loyalty to the prisoners. governor.

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