Alida Juliani
Madrid (EFE).- The Bolivian Vice President, David Choquehuanca, assured this Thursday that the objective of the Government of Luis Arce is for the UN to listen to Science about the beneficial properties for health of the coca leaf, a “cultural and ancestral” of Bolivia, which they claim to be able to commercialize and industrialize beyond their borders.
“No country is going to allow a convention to attack its culture, against its sovereignty,” Choquehuanca warned in an interview with EFE at the Casa de América in Madrid, where today he presented his book “La geapolitica del bien vivir.”
The Vice President of Bolivia made a stop in the Spanish capital after a trip that took him to Vienna to defend the decriminalization of the coca leaf, which has remained on the UN list of narcotic drugs for 60 years.
The 1961 United Nations Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs “establishes that the coca leaf must disappear in 25 years, but not only the coca leaf should do so, but also those who ‘chew’ it (chew in Aymara) by penalizing this cultural practice and ancestral”, explained Choquehuanca.
“We are part of the coca leaf, for us it is sacred, it is the mother of all plants, it feeds us, it heals us. That is why with (former) president (Evo) Morales we requested the decriminalization of coca chewing and we have done well, ”he said.
After that request, Bolivia left the UN convention and returned some time later, “but this time with a reservation, respecting our culture,” the Bolivian vice president pointed out.
Marketing coca in the world
In Bolivia, the legal cultivation of coca, the chewing, the commercialization within the country is allowed, “but we cannot commercialize it in the world,” Choquehuanca pointed out.
For this reason, the Government of Arce has asked the international community and the UN to correct “this historical error”, which, according to the vice president, was committed “due to a lack of scientific information.”
“We believe that an attack and injustice has been committed against our peoples. That is why we are now going to initiate a process so that the convention can activate the mechanism that declassifies the coca leaf. President Arce will send a letter to the Secretary General of the United Nations that he will take to the World Health Organization (WHO), and they will prepare a report, ”he explained.
“We have also met with the representatives of the WHO and they have shown openness,” added Choquehuanca, who referred to several investigations from European universities, the United States and Japan that reflect the nutritional and medicinal qualities of the coca leaf.
He also pointed to some French laboratories that are interested in its industrialization, “but they cannot do it because (the coca leaf) is on the UN list: “once it is declassified, we will see what treatment the scientists recommend . We are going to make the request in light of science.”
“And it will not only be positive for our economy. We also think that if we can come up with derivatives that can be used for medicine, this can benefit humanity,” he concluded.
Accompaniment of the international community
According to Choquehuanca, the international community is accompanying Bolivia in this claim, and “needs to know more about the coca leaf. We are sure that they will continue to accompany us”.
“We are not proposing something that is out of the norm, that is why it is important that Science pronounce itself,” he argued.
The deadlines to achieve this are long, because once the request to the UN is activated, it has to refer it to a group of experts, “this has to cook”.
“We are going to continue with our campaign so that he does not remain in the bureaucracy, which is the enemy of everything. We have to follow up.”