Bolivia wants the world to stop treating coca leaves like drugs
The WHO is reviewing whether the crop should be removed from international drug-control schedules
If New York runs on coffee, Cochabamba runs on coca. The leaves—which can be chewed as a mild stimulant, but also processed into cocaine—are everywhere: spread out by the road to dry; sold in bags alongside sweets and SIM cards; stuffed in cheeks as golf-ball-sized bolos. “With a bolo I can drive all night,” boasts one trucker, with a flash of leaf-flecked teeth.
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This article appeared in the The Americas section of the print edition under the headline “Chewing it over”
From the June 14th 2025 edition
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Brazil is bashing its patron saint of the environment
Congress is bulldozing environmental laws. Marina Silva wants to stop it
Inside the secret military dialogue between Britain and Argentina
A deal would counter China and please America. It requires deft diplomacy on the Falklands
Cuba’s leaders fiddle the figures
But they can’t avoid the summer heat—and their disgruntled compatriots
Canada makes a first concession to Donald Trump
Mark Carney is hoping it does not lead to more demands
Brazil’s president is losing clout abroad and unpopular at home
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva put Brazil on the map, but he hasn’t adapted to a changed world
Brazil’s president is losing clout abroad and unpopular at home
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva put Brazil on the map, but he hasn’t adapted to a changed world