Enacting democracy in a de facto state

Coca, cocaine and campesino unions in the Chapare, Bolivia

Datos Bibliográficos

ID2157658
AutoresThomas Grisaffi (0000-0002-4706-3100, Geography and Environmental Science, University of Reading, Reading, UK, autor de correspondencia)
Año2022
Volumen49
Número6
Páginas1273-1294
Fecha de publicación2022-09-19
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaThe Journal of Peasant Studies (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0306-6150 • E-ISSN: 1743-9361
EditorialInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/03066150.2021.1922889
OpenAlexW3184904354
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas8
Referencias citadas47

In Bolivia's Chapare coca growing region, the union structure (sindicato) is the cornerstone of social and political organization. The type of democracy practiced by coca growers' unions, has been portrayed by the media and opposition politicians as illiberal, anti-democratic, and even authoritarian. But yardsticks rooted in western democratic traditions do not readily apply as there is a substantively different form of democracy at work. The union leadership's use of force and sanctions is the result of a negotiated process, made with the consent of all members. But what evolved as the government of coca grower leader Evo Morales remained in power for three terms was a more top-down approach, as union executives increasingly disengaged from the grassroots. Union-led action against excess coca cultivation and cocaine paste production has impacted on some peasant households negatively and criticism that the amount of coca legally sanctioned was insufficient is ubiquitous. Thus, even among loyal followers, growing numbers of coca growers came to see Morales as increasingly authoritarian in failing to heed the principle of "leading by obeying. In telling this story this article contributes to debates on how state-level interventions intersect with the goals of the social movements that put them in power

Authoritarianism · Coca · De facto · Democracy · Development economics · Economics · Ethnography · Geography · Government (linguistics · Normative · Peasant · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Power (physics · Sociology · State (computer science · Crime, Illicit Activities, and Governance · Law · Politics and Society in Latin America · Sex work and related issues