Miguel -
Is the "new" coca there the same as what's been grown there in the past - i.e., meant for chewing by locals? Or destined to be refined and exported as in the Chapare?
Posted by
Frank IBC
August 28, 2007 2:50 PM
I can't speak to the new coca in the Yungas. But I suspect the Bolivian market for chewing coca has not increased radically in the past few years. So I suspect this is the famous "coca negra" (the chewing coca is "coca blanca") similar to that grown in Chapare.
Coca negra is essentially worthless for chewing (no self-respecting Bolivian would chew coca negra unless he was really, really desperate); it's main use is in the processing of coca paste (the main ingredient in cocaine). BTW, coca negra is also highly toxic for the soil, stripping it of nutrients & making for ecological problems down the road.