( Spanish) — The Departmental Association of Coca Producers of Los Yungas (Adepcoca) asked the Bolivian Government this Friday to recognize the Villa Franca market as the only facility authorized to trade the plant.
The request arises after on Thursday, according to the Police, several members of that group violently took over and burned the Villa El Carmen market, in La Paz, which they consider illegal.
According to the authorities, members of Adepcoca participated in a march from La Asunta, 100 km from La Paz, which reached the Villa del Carmen market, managed to overcome police custody and violently removed those who were inside.
The Police reported several injuries and also material damage to the infrastructure.
Machicao declared to the local press that the leadership was surpassed by the bases as a result of the government authorities’ inability to solve the problem.
The producers of Adepcoca maintain a long dispute with another group from the same region, led by the leader Arnold Alanes, who was recognized as a representative of the coca sector in an act held on September 21, 2021. Eduardo del Castillo, Minister of Government of Bolivia, and Remmy Gonzales, Minister of Rural Development and Lands, who endorsed the appointment of Alanes as president of the Departmental Association of Coca Producers of the Yungas.
The mobilized, led by the leader Freddy Machicado, are in favor of the existence of a single market, that of Villa Fátima, recognized as the only legal one by the General Law of Coca, which in its article 24, numeral II, establishes: “It is recognized in the Department of La Paz, the Market of the Departmental Association of Coca Producers -Adepcoca- and in the Department of Cochabamba, the Sacaba Market”.
Arnold Alanes, who is also a leader of the Villa El Carmen market, announced at a press conference that he will initiate legal action against Machicao and his board for the violent acts suffered by the facility he represents during the march on Thursday.
He also asked the Prosecutor’s Office to initiate an investigation to identify those responsible.
At a press conference, Minister Remmy Gonzales criticized the coca growers who violently took over the headquarters of the Villa del Carmen market.
Gonzales described the protesters as “hooligans and criminals” and said “they were not in a position to demand anything.”
The coca growers who marched from the Yungas asked the government to summon the sector to dialogue, and announced that they will continue to mobilize until their demands are heard.
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