3 12 26 https://www.abyayalanews.org/files/original/18659f14403d01c92d8c74e96be6d99c.pdf 82b8ccc28cb02a36458a5261e564a57a PDF Text Text --R I GHTS HUMAN Cocaleras Take to La Paz! A 350-mile March to Demand Human Rights in Bolivia bolll five hundred QuechuaAymara women organized a 350-mile march from the Chap.1re (a coca (Erychroxylum coca) producing area) to La Paz. Bolivias cap· ita!. The women marchers entered the capital on january 18, 1996, thirty days after having left from the upper reaches of the Amazon basin. Their main purpose was to demand that the Bolivian governmenl of Presidem Sllnchez de Lozada respect and enforce human rights in their home region, since abus- A es against the women and their families. also known as cocaleros. have increased recently. It was the first time organized 1ndigeoous·peas.·ml women From lhe coca areas marched to La Paz to discuss coca-related policies that affect them and their comm1.1nitics. Coca: Spiritual, yet Demonized Coca, the raw material for the production of cocaine, is a native crop to the area. It was first made illegal by the Vienna Convention of 1961. However, due to strong Indigenous resistance (coca holds ancient spiritual and cultur· al value for the Indigenous peoples who cultivate it), Bolivian officials agreed on a depenalized status. Ritual consumption and cultivation or coca has been allowed since that time by the Vienna Convention of 1988. However, due to the uncontrollable status of cocaine exports and consumption abroad. gov- ernments have demonized coca leaves. condemning the product and pressing for eradication. Surprisingly. here in the US, the well known writer 'A~IIiam F. Buckley Jr. recently reactivated the debate over legalization or dntgs in the jou.rrt.•l National Review. The fact is that consumption or dntgs in general, and not only or cocaine. has been steadily rising in the US and Europe. A possible answer, Buckley stresses. lies in legalization. (William F. Buckley Jr.• "The War Vol. 10 No.1 on Drugs is Lost" National Review, Vol XLVIU No.2, February 12. 1996: 34-48). War on Drugs or People? In the same way that the War on Drugs is perceived by policy makers as a failure, above all in the US, Indigenous peasants are not convinced by the long line of ~hemtuives to coca cultivation. Chapare Indigenous peas.•nts indirectly answer to foreign demand-the "consumption side," in rhe US and Europe. whic-h is almost never discussed. From the point or view of states, coca harvests must be condemned as the main regarding the implementation or alternative development projects in the area. The Women'S Cocalera March received massive suppon from: the pub· lie. A)o11ara leader Cristina M:\rquez. who represented the COS (Bolivian Workers Union) during the march. said the "women are clearly struggling against the neoliberal model" led by President Sanchez. Ximena lturralde and Lidia Katari, first L"ld)' and vice President CArdenas' wife. respo::ctively, agreed tO analyze the demands of the cocaleras in order to better understand their situation. providers of raw material for cocaine UMOPAR: Spreading Terror in the Coca Regions US embassy in La Paz has cominuall)' processed outside their domains. The pressured the Bolivian govemment for complete eradication or coca fields. However, there has been a general fail· ure to demonstrate the economic viabil· ity or altemative development projectS, or alternative agriculture. Ox:altros are trapped in a never-ending profit cycle A sharp condemnation or UMOPAR, a specialized anti-dn•g anned "nit. was voiced by Quechua leader Silvia 1.azarte. "For us [cocalerasl there is no life,justice. peace nor tranquillity in the coca fields... we continue to suffer sys· based on coca harvests that continue to about this. • she stated. This coincides with a recent Human Rights Wacch Americas report which analyzes the human impacts of the War on Dmgs: "The resources possessed by Bolivian tematic abuses. v~l e want you to think guarantee their income. and thus their survival. As part or the march. the cocaleras clearly addressed the fact that crimina.lization or coca has spelled disaster for antinarcotics forces are too few: too few the Indigenous peasants of Chapar:e. men too poorly equipped are being The state militarized the area. which asked. on the one hand, to battle wellthey denounced as a violation of their entrenched drug traffickers funded by human rights. In addition. the women immense profits. On the other hand, ma.rchers demanded the cessation or they are being asked to control the eradication of coca fields. compensation thousa.n ds or poor po::ople who labor at for Indigenous po::asants who were killed the lowest end of the drug production or have been physically disabled due to pyramid ... This law enforcement effon. police bnuality in the area, government moreover. is conducted in the absence support for initiatives seeking viable of institutions and traditions that hold altematlvc development, lcg.1.l protec- public agents accountable for their own tion for union leaders who represent adherence to laws protecting civilians Indigenous peasants in the coca areas, from abuse." (July 1995. Vol. 7. No.8. page 38). ~ the decriminalization and commercial· ization of coca leaf nationally and internationally~ and government account· ability for agreements signed in 1994 (Compiled with information from the &>livian National Newspaper; Presencia) 31 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Vol. 10, no. 1 (Spring 1996) Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Cocaleras Take to La Paz! Type The nature or genre of the resource Journal Article Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource Spring 1996 Spring 1996 Language A language of the resource English, Spanish English Zotero Title Cocaleras Take to La Paz! Item Type Journal Article Volume 10 10 Issue 1 1 Pages 31 Publication Title Abya Yala News: Journal of the South and Meso American Indian Rights Center (SAIIC) Abya Yala News ISSN 1071-3182 Date Spring 1996 Language English, Spanish English Abstract Note Five hundred Quechua Aymara women march 350 miles to La Paz, Bolivia to demand that Bolivian president, President Sllnchez, enforce human rights in their home region. Attachment Title abyayala_v10_n1_p31.pdf Attachment URL [No URL] Bolivia Human Rights Quechua Aymara women Sanchez de Lozada Gonzalo https://www.abyayalanews.org/files/original/dfbda9a08988349e2e20f96b82374eae.pdf 54a4d89e62826bb9b4acb5fb784ae3bf PDF Text Text ITEMS AVAILABLE FROM SAIIC Daughters of Abya Yala Testimonies of Indian women organizing throughout the Continent. Statements from grassroots Indian women leaders from South and Meso America. Includes resolutions from Indigenous women's meetings. a directory of Indian · women's organizations and key' contacts, information on lndiaJ> women's projects. and poems by Indian women. Contains 128 pages with beautiful black and white photographs. Printed on recy· cled paper. $8 + $3.00 shipping. Video: A Skirt Full of Butterflies 15 minutes. A love poem to the Isthmus Zapotec women · of southern Oaxaca. Mexico. by filmmakers Ellen Osborne and Maureen Gosling. For every purchase made. a second copy will be sent to an Indigenous women's o~ganization as a gift. $19.95 + ~.00 shipping. Video: Columbus Didn't Discover Us Native people's perspectives on the Columbus Quincentennial based on the footage of the 1990 Quito Conference. 24 minutes. A co·production of SAIIC, CONAIE. ONIC and Turning llde Productions. Available in Spanish or English. $19.95 + $3.00 shipping. Amazonia: Voices from the Rainforest A resource and action guide with a comprehensive list· ing of international rainforest and Amazonian Indian organizations sponsored by SAIIC and the International Rivers Network. and published by Rainforest Action Network and Amazonia Film Project. 1990. Available in Spanish or English for $4.50 + $3.00 shipping. ·1992 International Directory & Resource Guide An annotated directory of over 600 international orga· nizations that participated in 500 Years of Resistance projects . Includes declarations from Indigenous confer· ences and organizations and information on curriculum resources. speakers bureaus. computer networks. audio-visual .resources and print resources. $5.00 + $3.00 shipping. ''Indigenous Voices" Radio Program SAIIC's latest taped radio program is now available. Focusing on topics related to biodiversity and Indigenous peoples.' jt serves as an informative base with which Indigenous peoples can protect themselves against unwelcome bioprospecting and biopiracy. 1 hour. Narrated by members of SAIIC's Board of Directors. <Available in Spanish only) $8.00 + $3.00 shipping. South and Meso American Indian Rights Center (SAIIC) ' P.O. Box 28703, Oakland, CA 94604 Non·profit Organization US Postage PAID Oakland, CA Permit No. 79· � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Vol. 10, no. 1 (Spring 1996) Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource ITEMS AVAILABLE FROM SAIIC (Back Page) Type The nature or genre of the resource Journal Article Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource Spring 1996 Language A language of the resource English, Spanish English Zotero Title ITEMS AVAILABLE FROM SAIIC (Back Page) Item Type Journal Article Volume 10 Issue 1 Pages 40 Publication Title Abya Yala News: Journal of the South and Meso American Indian Rights Center (SAIIC) Abya Yala News ISSN 1071-3182 Date Spring 1996 Language English Attachment Title abyayala_v10_n1_p40.pdf Attachment URL [No URL] "Indigenous Voices" Radio Program Daughters of Abya Yala