A Diplomacia da Folha de Coca: Identidade Cultural e Política Externa na Bolívia de Evo Morales (2006-2013)

Abstract

This research aims to analyze Bolivia's foreign policy during the first two terms of President Evo Morales (2006–2013), focusing on the claim to the right of coca leaf cultivation within the national territory. For this qualitative analysis, the study provides a contextualization of the importance of the coca leaf to Bolivia’s Indigenous peoples and applies the constructivist approach in Foreign Policy Analysis to understand how Bolivia's identity and interests were shaped around this issue. The study then addresses how social demands became part of foreign policy, and how coca growers organized as interest groups around coca cultivation policies. Using data from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) to measure the expansion or reduction of illegal coca cultivation areas, it becomes clear that these figures served as a metric for evaluating the effectiveness of the policies adopted by the government, ultimately leading the Commission, in 2013, to grant Bolivia an exception regarding coca leaf usage. In conclusion, the Bolivian case illustrates how certain ethnic groups assert cultural rights and contribute to the democratization of the international system by preserving multiculturalism within it.