Drugs in Latin America
Introduction
Latin America is regarded as a central geographical zone for the production, trading, and trafficking of the drugs. However, the Andean countries of Peru, Columbia, and Bolivia are the major producers of cocaine in the world, while Mexico, Caribbean, and Central America are the major corridors for the transport of drugs into Europe and the United States. More and more people are participating in the drug trade. Cocaine is one of the major drugs that have done great damage in the United States, and it has exerted bad impacts on the society. People are involving in crimes and are adopting attitudes of rebels after consuming the drugs.
Furthermore, people are also chewing coca leaves that are exerting harmful effects physiological effects on their lives. There is a war on the drugs in the United States, and many national as well as international laws are against the distribution and production of cocaine, but still there are several industries who just concentrate on the earning of profits so they are involved in this business. There are many political, economic, and cultural factors that are responsible for the drug trade. There are several cultural, political, and economic factors that are contributing to an increase in the drug trade.
Thesis Statement
The trade of drugs in the Latin America is increasing due to the underground nature of the drug economy, and use of some drugs for obtaining profits.
Explanation
People in the Latin America are engaging in the trade of the drugs. The trade of the drugs in the Latin America is concerned majorly with the production of Cocaine that includes the export of the banned drugs to Europe and the United States. This can be analyzed from the fact that Peru together with the Bolivia and Columbia provides the whole supply of the drugs for the market of the United States. People participate in the drug trade because in most of the countries drugs are an important part of their life, such as “In the Andes of Peru, Coca and Cocaine preparation and traffic are part of the traditional ecological exchange as well as am importamt source of cash (Morales, p. 15).
People are getting much more income from the trade of drugs as compared to the income that they can earn from the job. Further, most of the unemployed people also become involve in the business of trading the illegal drugs in order to earn their livelihood. However, people are also involving in this business due to the cash that is earned from the cocaine economy. The cocaine economy is not a formal one, “The cocaine economy is the informal economy par excellence. Before Cocaine, Peru had perhaps the most extensive urban informal economy of any Latin American country, and now its export economy has become informal” (Roberts, p. 1343). Moreover, people chew coca leaves.
“Coca is an integral part of Quechua life in Peru and Bolivia and is a powerful symbol of cultural identity “(Allen, p. 157). There are some etiquette for the consumption and production of the coca production, but people are not following these etiquettes and are using coca in an improper manner. There are several policies that are designed in order to control the production of the coca leaves. Such as in 1990, “Despite violence and human rights abuses, the impoverished but well organized coca growers became the country’s principal resistance to both U.S. drug and neoliberal economic policy” (Farthing & Kohl, p. 198).
Moreover there is a war on drugs in the United States and various national as well as international laws are against the production and the distribution of cocaine, but still many people are willing to be the part of this industry. This is because people are considering their own motives and the government is considering its own motives. The production of cocaine helps in the increase in the exports of the country, which helps in increasing the national income of the country. “The illegal circulation of ‘coca dollars’ supports local economies , feeds inflation, and causes changes, such as cocaine smoking in the social behavior of the indigenous” (Morales, p.15).
The individual motives of people and the government motivate then for being a part of the industry where there is a trade of the drugs. Furthermore, people want to enjoy comfort in their life, they want to maintain a higher standard of living, so in search of the better living, they indulge themselves in the illegal activities, and perform those tasks in which they are certain that they will be able to earn more. So, in order to enjoy the higher standard of living more and more people are now a part of the industry where drugs are traded. Moreover, people who are living in the rural areas are stressed as the population is more and the land is decreasing, people are not even getting the necessities of the life. So, in order to have the necessities of life, they are earning money from the trading of the drugs such as cocaine. With the trading of cocaine, they become capable of earning for themselves as well as for their family.
There are several cultural, economic, and the political factors that can play their role in order to push the individuals into the drug trade. The cultural factors in this regard are that some drugs are considered as necessary in some cultures. For example, in Peru and Bolivia, “the act of chewing coca leaves is an unequivocal statement of cultural royalties” (Allen, p. 157). Some drugs have become a cultural part of the lives of individuals, and the use of such drugs continues from various generations, and this use is now also transferred to the coming generations.
For example, In Peru, Coca is an integral part the rituals. Several attempts have been made in order to control the production of the drugs, for example, there is an international pressure on the Andean nation to eradicate the production of the coca. This cure is applied so that the production and use of coca as well as cocaine can be controlled. Since, the new generation is considering the fact that their forefathers remained involved with the business of the drug trade, so they also involving themselves in this business in order to maintain their standard of life. Furthermore, in such areas there is little awareness about the harmful effects of the drugs, and people are considering that the use of such drugs is useful. For example, in Bolivia and Peru, “the scientific evidence against the coca chewing (as opposed to cocaine use) is weak at best, the evidence in favor of the positive functions of coca chewing is mounting” (Allen, p.159).
Several campaigns were started in Peru and Bolivia in order to make people aware of the harmful effects of the drugs, but “Past campaigns to abolish coca have always failed in Peru and Bolivia” (Allen, p.159). Moreover, in Columbia FARC, i.e., Feurzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia that claims to be fighting for the social, economic, and political justice in Columbia (Leech, p. 2), is also not performing its function in a proper way, due to which people are unable to get the justice, so they are involving in the illegal activities particularly in the drug trade.
The use of the drugs is prevalent in the high attitude communities, while the use of some drugs is more prevalent in the low attitude communities. This can be analyzed from the fact that use of the cocaine is more prevalent among the individuals that belong to the high attitude communities, and the use of coca is more prevalent among the people of low attitude communities. These people consider that the use of certain drugs is their cultural identity, and they are known by their cultural identity, so the use of such drugs and trading of drug continues from one generation to the other, and this business of the drug trade is flourishing with the passage of time as more and more people are demanding high standard of living, so in the pursuit of the higher standard of living, to continue their cultural values, and to make more money more and more people are becoming involve in the trade of the drugs.
Economically, the trade of drugs is considered as beneficial, and most of the governments are not taking any strict actions in order to control the drug trade. Police is also not making sufficient efforts in order to control the trading of drugs. Powerful political elites are getting benefits from the drug trade. The poor earn far less from the drug economy than do local intermediaries, who include police, government officials, and members of Peru’s economic elite, not to mention the foreign drug barons (Morales, p. 190).
Furthermore, the drug control in many Latin American states is tied to the military and political powers, these powers are not letting the complete control on the drugs because they themselves are involved in the business of drug trading. Furthermore, the funded repressions by the drug producers and traders are disrupting the country and are preventing the complete control over the trade of drugs. The government has instituted several programs in order to control the production of some drugs while allowing the use of others. Such as the Movement towards Socialism, i.e., “the MAS government has instituted a ‘coca yes, cocaine no’ policy under the leadership of former coca growers” (Farthing, and Kohl, p. 198).
But, the ineffective management of the policies has paved the way to the increase in the trade of the drugs. The programs are started for the reduction of the drug trade, but later on the institutions consider that the goal is unachievable. For example, USAID has introduced programs in order to reduce the production of drugs, “The earliest efforts sought to replace coca, but eventually USAID administrators realized that this was an unrealistic goal” (Farthing, and Kohl, p. 202) Despite of the drug war, still most of the people are involved in the business of the drug trade. This is because proper policies are not designed, or they are designed so late that the policies lost their importance at that time. Such laws are designed that are useful for the rich and harmful for the poor, so rich remained involve in the business of the drug trade, and the poor who remain unsuccessful in getting justice become involve in the illegal activities.
If the economic factors are considered, then it can be realized that there are various factors that are pushing people towards the trading of drugs. This can be analyzed from the fact that in Peru coca is considered as the basis for the economic exchange. Furthermore, unemployment, and the structural constraints are becoming the basis of depression in people, and in order to reduce their depression regarding job most of the people are becoming involved in the use and the trade of the drugs.
Considering an example, that in case a graduate have no job, the parental control in the home increases, their children is stressed out, and after becoming hopeless, he/she opts for using the drugs. Another example in this regard is that coca is a hardy shrub that requires only a small investment (Morales, p. 16). The trade of drugs in most of the economies is making them capable of contributing to the economy of the world, such as the Cocaine production in several ways, has been the basis of the Peru’s participation in the economy of the world. Further, “Peru alone produces a total of about 170,000 metric tons of coca every year” (Morales, p. 16).
Furthermore, people who are enjoying high status are exercising their power and they are not allowing the control of drug trade due to which this activity is increasing, and people are attracted towards this activity in order to earn better. Moreover, there is an economic differentiation of the land, and the underground nature of the drug economy makes it difficult to gather more information about the facts related to the drug trade. Due to the economic differentiation of land, most of the people are deprived from the basic needs and requirements of life, they are unable to get the education, and do a suitable job, where they can earn better. So, after finding that there are no legal means of earning money, and government is not helping them in this regard, they adopt unethical attitude and become involve in the illegal trading of the drugs.
Conclusion
The business of drug trade is increasing with the passage of time in Latin America, where coca and cocaine are the main drugs that are traded. The vast majority of people and profit oriented organizations are becoming involved in this business. There are several political, economic, and social factors that are responsible for pushing people in the trading of drugs. Politically, the power oriented parties are not allowing proper control, economically, a lot of money is earned with through the export and trade of the drugs, so government is not properly implementing strict measures, and culturally most of the drugs have become an essential component of the lives of people, which is pushing more and more people to become involved in the activity of the drug trade, and remain associated with that. In order to control the trading of drugs, there is a need of creation of awareness about the harmful effects of drugs among people, so that they take into consideration these effects before using drugs.
References
Allen, Catherine J. "To Be Quechua: The Symbolism Of Coca Chewing In Highland Peru."American Ethnologist 8.1 (1981): 157-71. Print.
Farthing, L., and B. Kohl. "Social Control: Bolivia's New Approach To Coca Reduction." Latin American Perspectives 37.4 (2010): 197-213. Print.
Leech, Garry M. Beyond Bogotá: Diary of a Drug War Journalist in Colombia. Boston: Beacon, 2009. Print.
Morales, Edmundo. Cocaine: White Gold Rush in Peru. Arizona: University of Arizona Press, 1989. Print.
