‘We are not Drug Traffickers, We are Colombian Peasants’: The voices and history of cocaleros in the substitution programme of illicit crops in Colombia

Itayosara Rojas Herrera*, Joost Dessein

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

3 Citations (Scopus)
45 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Drugs and development policies lack a historical and political economy perspective. This has led to a situation where issues of everyday state-making and agrarian conflicts are ignored. Alternative frameworks that incorporate these elements do not go beyond mere procedural participation. This is also the case with Colombia's Comprehensive Plan for the Substitution of Illicit Crops (‘PNIS’), resulting from the recent 2016 peace agreement. Through ethnographic work and content analysis of coca growers' demands, we demonstrate how coca growers are the ones who best understand the historical reasons that led them to participate in this economy and therefore, who can most clearly design and implement transition strategies in drugs and development policies. In addition to history and political economy, alternative approaches must draw on the experiences of those who have suffered from state-building processes.

Original languageEnglish
Article number103734
JournalGeoforum
Volume141
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - May 2023

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
We are grateful to the two anonymous reviewers for their generous comments. We thank Pedro Arenas and the Visomutop Corporation who facilitated the fieldwork for the data collection of this research. We are especially grateful to the cocaleros and cocaleras who shared their stories and experiences, especially the members of COCCAM who generously provided their archives. We also thank the inhabitants of Briceño for their trust and hospitality.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 The Author(s)

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