This is a challenging book, loaded with historical information and informed critiques of international cocaine and coca policies and their impact. The anonymous contributors summarize their findings in 26 lessons and recommendations. Despite its brevity, the book is a highly informative and distinctive contribution to the voluminous bibliography on the subject.
The volume differs from the bulk of the literature in that it presents an Andean perspective at variance with that of U.S. policymakers. Its analysis departs with the goal of seeking what is best for the Andean peoples, and as such it makes for illuminating reading for those living north of Panama. Its remarkably few glitches (for example, the Aztecs were not around five thousand years ago, despite the comment on page 50) do not detract from its overall value. It provides a stimulating discussion of the major issues for a wide audience of students, academic analysts, and policymakers.
The chapters present the Bolivian, Colombian, and Peruvian situations, each from a national and historical perspective. The text deals informatively with local social, political, and economic conditions and the impact of coca and cocaine production, sale, and distribution. The chapters discuss the dynamics of drug trafficking and the organization of the “mafias,” noting their influence and conflicts with the respective governments and societies. Each chapter addresses the particular effects of U.S. and other international drug policies on the three countries and reviews local drug legislation and enforcement.
Each chapter also contains some specific case material that gives overarching information without unnecessary redundancy. The Bolivian section devotes several pages to a consideration of Bolivia’s diplomatic ineptitude in managing its affairs with the United States and in being manipulated to its social and political disadvantage. Colombia’s role in the cocaine network is examined in the longest section. The analysis reviews conflicting U.S. policies and their nefarious influences throughout the region, along with the corruption and institutional debilitation stemming from the drug trade. The chapter on Peru details coca and cocaine production per se and addresses responsibilities that must accrue to producer as well as consumer nations.
The United States is identified as the primary power player in policy, consumption, and economics related to the cocaine issue. The book makes suggestions for both national and international policies. For Peru and Bolivia, it makes a plea for respecting the patterns of traditional use and not confusing them with cocaine consumption, as reflected in the 1988 United Nations Convention. With numerous caveats and necessary prior conditions, the authors would consider legalization of cocaine as a policy change that could break the current impasse in effecting control over production, trade, and consumption. Their data and ideas merit study and close consideration by students and policymakers alike.
