34 CultureShock! Bolivia
various affl ictions—from foot blisters to pneumonia—but
they trekked on and the nation’s attention was riveted
on their plight. This media event was oddly juxtaposed in
historical period with O J Simpson’s famous auto chase; two
very different social milestones.
When they fi nally arrived in the drizzly south suburbs of
La Paz, near the end of this pilgrimage, city residents of all
social classes lined the roads, offering food and beverages.
People observing the march broke down in tears, both men
and women, as the marchers laboured by.
The women were interviewed along the way. “This is a
march in defence of our right to live ... why should we be
forced to cook for the soldiers who had come to eradicate
our fi elds ... we want true alternatives to coca, not just a cow
or beautiful words.”
These women were compared to the followers of Martin
Luther King and Ghandi, and had captured the heart
of Bolivia.
One of their demands was a revision of the unconstitutional
Law 1008. Prisoners like dog handler Fidel Flores were
hoping that this intense national identity with victims of
poverty would do something to cut short their time in prison.
The march coincided with Minister of Justice Blattmann’s
campaign to reform the penal system.
“In our country, for centuries freedom hasn’t been for
everyone,” he said, “but rather for certain social and isolated
groups. As a result, we can easily state that drug traffi ckers
and white collar workers aren’t in our jails today, but poor,
humble people are.”A Valid Question
What was clear in the aftermath of the Cocalera March is that the
vast majority of Bolivians made a great differentiation between the
despised Amado Pachecos and the impoverished bottom rungs of
the world cocaine trade.
‘The United States wants to decide whether or not to certify the
world’s countries in their struggle against drugs,’ editorialised the
now-defunct Jesuit newspaper Presencia, ‘but who is going to decide
if the United States should be certifi ed? No one, of course.’