The Coca Boom and Rural Social Change in Bolivia

A Market Study of Organic and Fair Trade Coffee in Bolivia

“…The roads leading to Yungas were little more than loosely packed stone and dirt paths suited for mules, some of which harkened back to the Inca Empire (Sanabria, 1993). The SPY, through its taxes on coca, was able to finance the construction of an automotive road in 1935, the labor of which was prison labor from the Chaco War (Sanabria, 1993).…”

“…The roads leading to Yungas were little more than loosely packed stone and dirt paths suited for mules, some of which harkened back to the Inca Empire (Sanabria, 1993). The SPY, through its taxes on coca, was able to finance the construction of an automotive road in 1935, the labor of which was prison labor from the Chaco War (Sanabria, 1993). However, the valley of the Yungas continued to remain sparsely populated until after the Agricultural Reform Law of 1953, which provided indigenous Bolivians the right to land ownership (Sanabria, 1993).…”

“…The new government was established to reclaim economic and political enfranchisements of indigenous peoples. Among the MNR's primary goals was to institute a comprehensive agrarian reform (Sanabria, 1993). These reforms were legislated in 1953 when the national government passed agrarian reform through Decreto Ley 3464 or La Reforma Agraria en Bolivia.…”

“…The MNR's reforms dismantled the hacienda system of coca production, and it redistributed land to the peasant farmers. After the reform, small landholders who produce coca (cocaleros) gained control over coca production, which is how it remains organized (Sanabria, 1993).…”

“…The hacienda owners organized themselves into the Society of Landowners of Yungas and Inquisivi (SPY) in the 1830s to market coca and invest in regional infrastructure (Sanabria, 1993).…”