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An Assistant Undersecretary of State for Interamerican Affairs is the latest US official to attempt to frighten Bolivian voters and politicians away from coca growers' (cocaleros) leader and rising political figure Evo Morales. Morales has led efforts by cocaleros in Bolivia's Chapare region to undo the US-imposed forced eradication of coca crops in the region, an effort that threatens the stability of the US-backed government of President Sanchez de Lozada, and as a result has been roundly denounced by US officials, including new Ambassador David Greenlee.

coca seedlings

Last week, Undersecretary Philip Chicola added his voice to the critical US chorus. He warned that negotiating with Morales and the cocaleros would not solve Bolivia's profound economic and social problems. "To yield to Evo Morales and his cocalero mafia is not the way to resolve Bolivia's problems," Chicola said. "It is very difficult to have democracy in a country dominated by drug traffickers."

According to Chicola, all "excess" coca grown in Bolivia is grown by drug traffickers. The cultivation of coca for traditional consumption is one thing," Chicola told a meeting of the Association of American Chambers of Commerce in Latin America. "The plantations with large quantities, grown by drug traffickers to produce drugs, is another," the functionary pronounced.

Morales, the cocaleros, and the Movement Toward Socialism (MAS), Morales' political party, were having none of it. Morales told La Razon (La Paz) on May 8 that he did not represent a "coca mafia" and demanded that the US Embassy back up its charges with evidence. He also told La Razon he regarded Chicola's words as a threat to his physical security. "If something happens to Evo," he said, "he will be responsible."

Morales joked that the US is nervous about the success of his movement. "When the dog barks, it is because someone is walking by," he said. He also noted that while earlier attacks had come from the Embassy, "now they do it from the White House."

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