U.S. - Bolivian relations and the drug trade...

[BamaLefty]

What's your opinion on America's policy dealing with the drug supply from the Andes of South America. Has it been effective or a waste of money? Given the fact that their economy "depends" on the continuation of the trade and our govt fights it every step of the way... what do you think? I'm sure this is just the Bu$h admin showing their ass, but I can't make up my mind either way. Anyway, I thought this was an interesting article on the topic. From the 10/19 WaPo.
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LA PAZ, Bolivia, Oct. 18 -- The decision by the Bush administration to suspend trade preferences that benefit Bolivia has left workers here worried about the potential for widespread layoffs at a time when the nation is struggling to cope with the international financial crisis.

U.S. officials said 20,000 to 30,000 Bolivians might lose their jobs as a result of the suspension of preferences, which are important for such Bolivian exports as textiles and jewelry.

"This decision is discriminatory and political," said Emilio Pinto Marin, vice minister of the budget department. "It's going to affect our productivity."

President Bush said Thursday that he signed the law suspending Bolivia's trade privileges because the country had "failed to cooperate with the United States on important efforts to fight drug trafficking." But many officials here see it as the latest step in an escalating feud between the two countries


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/18/AR2008101801883.html

[nebenaube]

1. They must have failed to meet production quotas... n/t

[leveymg]

2. As if Colombia was really cooperating . . . but, Colombian right-wing coke is so much less harmful.

Have a coke, a death squad, and a smile.

[nerddem]

3. this type of trade has only been prominent for a few decades in the 20th cent

the policy itself is good because the idea is to replace nontaxable illicit trade with taxable legitimate trade that not only provides revenue for social works and infrastructure, but helps support the financial system that is severely underdeveloped. even the specific policy of crop replacement is beneficial because it diversifies the country's agricultural portfolio.

legitimate trade is obviously preferable, and fairly well distributed among partners near and far (i think the top importers of bolivian goods are the us, brazil, argentina, south korea). no doubt that the loss of preferential trade will hurt a good chunk of people and is aimed at putting even more pressure on morales to, you know, govern and lead the entire country (not just with/for his political support).

[Peace Patriot]

4. This Bushwhack move is totally political. It has nothing whatever to do with

stopping the cocaine traffic.

The Bushwhacks are actively trying to topple Evo Morales, the first indigenous president of Bolivia (a largely indigenous country), and a key leader of the peaceful, democratic, leftist revolution that has swept South America. The corrupt, failed, murderous U.S. "war on drugs" is being used to undermine Morales (and the leftist democracy movement in other countries as well), by using the funds to support anti-Morales political groups, to drive peasant farmers from the land with toxic pesticide spraying and other brutal measures (peasant farmers are the best food producers, and have thousands of years of technical expertise in organic food production) and to prevent the wise policy of the Morales government of differentiating between mere coca leaf production and use (a traditional indigenous medicine--used in teas and for chewing), and cocaine production. Recently, coca leaf farmers in one region of Bolivia kicked the U.S. "war on drugs" personnel out of their region, for not helping farmers, for living in luxury and for political meddling.

A few weeks ago, Bush-supported white separatists went on a rampage, machine-gunning 30 unarmed peasants, trashing government and NGO buildings, and other rioting, and blowing up a gas pipeline, in their effort to split Bolivia's gas and oil rich eastern provinces off from the national Bolivian government. Morales threw the Bushwhack U.S. ambassador out of Bolivia for supporting these violent fascists. The trade sanctions by the Bush Junta are retaliation.

This has nothing to do with stopping drug traffic, and everything to do with stopping democracy. The two biggest cocaine producers--Colombia and Peru--are the Bushwhacks' most favored nations in South America. They get no sanctions, yet the Colombian government and military are hugely corrupt with drugs/weapons trafficking and anti-left, anti-labor death squads. The Peruvian government is so corrupt that its 'free tradist' president just had to fire his entire cabinet, in an attempt to survive the latest scandal. The Bushwhacks have larded the corrupt Colombian military with $6 BILLION in military aid--the second largest military aid package in the world--and the cocaine just keeps on flowing. What's wrong with this picture?

The Morales government is clean, democratic and committed to social justice. That is why the Bushwhacks hate it--as they hate the Chavez government in Venezuela, and the Correa government in Ecuador.

Democracy is the target of U.S.-Bush policy, not cocaine.