In Bolivia, Coca Farmers Find Exploitation Replaces Abuse

In Bolivia, Coca Farmers Find Exploitation Replaces Abuse
Victor Calichu showing coca leaves on Sept. 16, 2021. Autumn Spredemann/The Epoch Times
Autumn Spredemann
Updated:

A coca farmer in Bolivia lives in poverty, while others reap wealth from the crop he grows. He and his family earlier suffered persecution at the hands of the police, which, with the election of the socialists, was replaced by what he regards as exploitation by the government.

Agustin Calichu, 60, has been working as a coca farmer since his early 20s on his plantation two miles outside the town of Villa Tunari, located in the Chapare region in the Bolivian Amazon.

Autumn Spredemann
Autumn Spredemann
Author
Autumn is a South America-based reporter covering primarily Latin American issues for The Epoch Times.
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