Coca e Intercambio

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Coca and Cocaine Economy and Social Change in the Andes of PeruAuthor(s): Edmundo MoralesSource: Economic Development and Cultural Change, Vol. 35, No. 1 (Oct., 1986), pp. 143-161Published by: The University of Chicago PressStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1154147 .Accessed: 07/02/2014 00:51

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Coca and Cocaine Economy and Social Changein the Andes of Peru*

Edmundo Morales

City University of New YorkI. IntroductionIn recent years, Bolivia, Colombia, and Peru have become the coun-tries most often cited in connection with coca (Erythrocylon coca)cultivation, coca preparation, and traffic in coca paste and cocainehydrochloride.' Most of the cocaine refined in Columbia comes fromthe jungles of Peru.2 The President's Commission on Organized Crimereports an estimated annual revenue from illicit drugs, including

cocaine, of approximately $80 billion.3Historically, coca has been part of the Andean economy, and the

Peruvian Indian has always been tied to the production of the cocaplant and the consumption of the leaves. As early as 1800 B.c., theinhabitants of the Peruvian Pacific coast were already chewing cocaproduced in the rain forests.4 This traditional ecological interchangewas based on patterns of reciprocity between populations with subsis-tence agriculture.s

The remarkable importance of coca was further emphasized andexploited during the colonial period. The Spanish conquerors max-imized the cultural (chewing) and stimulant effects of coca leaves inPotosi and other mines in the Andes. In modern times, to satisfy andprotect the needs of the coca-chewing Indian, the Peruvian govern-ment incorporated the production of coca in the national economicinstitution and created an exclusive administrative office to collectrevenues from coca trade (estanco de la coca). As part of the legal cocatrade, Peru also produced limited amounts of cocaine for scientific andmedical uses. Coca did not represent a major social problem. Thus,existing scientific literature deals only with the cultural aspects of cocachewing and the social and pharmacological effects of coca-pastesmoking among modern and indigenous groups.7

Why is it important to understand in detail how coca and cocaine

? 1986 by The University of Chicago. All rights reserved.0013-0079/87/3501-0009$01.00

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Edmundo Morales 145

(names identifying ndividuals and places are all fictitious).'2 The fivevillages of Rurin consist of 375 families with a total population of 1,900inhabitants. '13

Although, theoretically, Rurin peasants are part of a legally orga-nized community (Comunidad Campecina de Rurin), they are openlyopposed to accepting land-reform aws. Thus, they neither are legalowners of the land that they have farmed for generations nor do theyparticipate n the collective system of production.'4

Unlike peasants who participate n the state-controlled agrarianproduction, Rurinos are free to sell their products at prices determinedby local demand and supply. Most of them sell their crops in the jungle,where they get higher prices than in local markets. Crops transportedto the jungle as well as ones sold in local markets may satisfy cashneeds but also reduce food intake in the community. The reason forthis is that foodstuffs brought o the forests are not surplus production;the sale of food is necessary to meet their needs for cash.

III. MethodologyIn May 1980,I first visited the setting for 2 weeks. The peasants tried to

expelme from the community a few hours after my arrival n one of the

villages. I suggested that we have a farewell drink of alcohol. By thetime we finished the bottle of alcohol (500 milliliters), we all were

friends and I was welcome to remain n the village for as long as Iwanted to. During his short stay, I contracted wo key persons, a localteacher and a community peasant leader, who were willing to cooper-ate in the research.

The project was programmed o be carried out during he summerand fall of 1981, since these are the seasons (winter and spring there)

when almost everyone in the community is present because of theharvest. Moreover, I needed and wanted to get most of the villagersinterviewed as rapidly as possible so that I could rely on the datawithout having to take into account changes that might have takenplace in the interval.

In the spring of 1981, before my trip from New York, I asked oneof my advisors to sign a letter in Spanish addressed to the head of thepolice, the director of education in the province, the mayor, and thelocal judge. With the previous year's experience, clearance was impor-tant for the stay in the area and the community.

My plan was to visit immediately the leader who, during my firststay, had offered me full cooperation. This time, he came up with theexcuse that the documents that he held were in Lima in the hands ofone of his sons, and he advised me to pick another community toavoid problems with the population. He secretly had started to warnhis covillagers of the danger that my presence in Rurin meant becauseof my identification with the other party and that they should take



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146 Economic Development and Cultural Change

the initiative to throw me out of the community, for I had no officialauthorization to be in Rurin. He did not know that I had been au-

thorized by the national authorities in the province. He was surprisedwhen he learned that I had been cleared in every respect. It was myplan first to collect historical and political data, but the result of myvisit to the leader made me alter this. I decided to start interviewingand observing the population. Nobody resisted at all.

A total of 101 families, from the 125 planned, were observed, andinformal interviews were carried out with the heads of households.Early bird (7:30-9:00 A.M.) or late (5:30-7:00 P.M.) visits were pro-grammed to try to find the heads of families before or after their dailyactivities out in the field. Three to five families per day were visited.The rest of the time was spent talking with shepherds and workers inthe fields or taking field notes. Interviews were conducted in Quechuato make them feel comfortable and to facilitate a better and moreprecise expression of their feelings, opinions, attitudes, and ideas.

During data collection, there were instances when jotting downfield notes was difficult or impossible because of the inconveniencesfound in the setting or because of the time of the interviews. In these

difficult times, audiovisual instruments made the process of data col-lection more effective. Ninety minutes of Super 8 sound film and tensof rolls of still, positive film were shot. 5

The research proposed to study the effects of land reform andmodernization in the Andes. A basic questionnaire designed to get dataon the demographic, social, and economic aspects of the communitywas taken to the field. In the process of my visits and interviews, Idiscovered that, right after the harvest, some peasants started makingpreparations for a long trip. So my initially structured plan had to be

changed to fit what was going on in the field, which was different fromwhat I had conceived before the research itself.After discovering the new research material, I centered my efforts

on the montanero (in a local dialect, the one who goes to the jungle )peasants and some informants in small towns in the area. In the towns Ibegan socializing with petty dealers and migrant workers. My ses-sions with these key informants took place in town corners and parkbenches. The first approach was always a Coca (Coca-Cola) drinktreat. The use of the word Coca opened a variety of conversations

leading to different aspects of coca paste and cocaine.Some informants assumed that my indirect approach to coca paste

was an indication of my interest to get into the business. On morethan one occasion I was offered certain amounts of the best stuff(refined cocaine). But I cautiously avoided both too much informationand direct or indirect involvement in drug dealings. My cautious, low-key attitude was based on my suspicion of a trap set up by local druglords.



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Edmundo Morales 147

IV. The Traditional Coca EconomyIt may be true that, in some areas where barter takes place, there is

little or no cash economy and vice versa. However, in the highlands ofPeru, bartering of coca for goods produced by the peasants' labor indifferent ecological niches is generally accepted and socially approved.This does not mean that coca is the standard and universal commodityof exchange; neither does it imply that commodity exchange and casheconomy are two mutually exclusive activities. One way or another,both economies are present among Andeans.

Coca, produced at altitudes of 600-2,000 meters above sea level,is picked, dried, and pressed in bales of 1-2 arrobas (25-50 pounds).Traditionally, n the area of fieldwork, there were two kinds of cocatraders who brought coca leaves from the rain forests up to the high-lands. (1) Some townsmen would go to the jungle to bring back coca,coffee beans, and some dried fruits. Back in the highlands, hey wouldsell the coca to the bodegueros. Coffee beans and dried fruits weredistributed n exchange for women's and children's labor. (2) Occa-sionally a number of peasants made trips to the closest fields of cocaproduction and returned with a few pounds of coca leaves, mostly fortheir own consumption. The townsmen traded food for coca while thepeasants were paid in coca leaves for their labor in small coca planta-tion fields. The movement of coca from the jungle was legal and regu-lated by the national government.

Small strategic towns near coca plantations unctioned as ports ofexit of coca. In these administrative ocalities, the national governmenthad its representatives n charge of collection of revenues from cocatrade. The recaudador (tax collector) also controlled the retailing ofcoca and salt coming from the coast. The retail of coca was always in

the hands of small-town bodegueros and storekeepers in large townsand cities. In some cases, villagers had to walk 1-4 hours for theirsupply of coca. The license to sell coca was issued by the recaudadorin the form of a tin plate reading estanco de la coca to be displayed onthe door of the bodega or tienda, as they call small shops in some areasin the Andes. In the ports of exit in the late fifties, the direct taximposed on coca was about 5 soles per arroba (US$0.30 in 1958 ex-change rates).16 Today, this type of tax collection has disappeared nthe Andes, and now the movement and market of coca, with certain

limitations to be discussed in the next section, is more or less free.In highland communities, coca leaves reach the peasant chewer inone of two forms. Either he gets his own supply for his personal andsocial use, or coca is provided to him as part of the reward for hislabor. During work hours, the peon (day laborer) gets his ration of cocaleaves along with alcohol or chicha (a beerlike alcoholic beverage).These supplies are in addition to the 250 soles (US$0.50 in 1981 ex-change rates) of wages paid and one or two meals. It is a traditional



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social use to serve the peon a yahuapa (breakfast) and/or heavymerienda (dinner). Lunch is usually skipped; they work with their coca

quids in their mouths. 7Ishku

(lime),an

ingredientadded to the chew-

ing, is carried along at all times.8' n the cash market, 1 ounce of cocaleaves is sold at 200 soles (US$0.40 in 1981 soles), and only a fewstorekeepers have it in stock because coca coming from the jungleusually ends up in the illicit market.

Before discussing the exchange commodity role of coca, it must benoted that today, in the Andes, the metric system of measure has beenadopted in almost every respect. However, the unit of measurement toweigh coca leaves is still done in ounces, pounds, and arrobas.

Coca leaves come to Rurin and other villages in high altitudesmostly by way of trade with wheat and Andean roots produced by thetraditional agriculture. Despite its dependence on seasonal rains, Rurinland has a good subsistence agriculture, and the quality of its cropsattracts many traveling merchants and traders.

The trader visits the community usually at least 1 month before thebeginning of the harvest season, or he comes during harvest activities,knowing that the crops are promising. If, because of drought or flood,the quality of the grains does not meet the standards of the demand in

the market, he does not come to the community at all. But in the caseof a good crop, the trader makes two trips to the community. The cuca-tumasik (coca trader) brings with him a few pounds of coca, clothing,tools, and plastic wares. The Rurin peasant has the choice of eithertaking a partial payment in coca for his product or the full amount inadvance. Others take only a llanqui, which consists of a fistful ofcoca.19

The rate of exchange in Rurin in 1981 was a half-pound of coca for2 arrobas of select wheat (the best crop in the community). The cuca-tumasik does not go from house to house; as the Quechua term indi-cates, he just walks around the villages with his load of coca andother goods on his burro.

Weeks later, the trader comes back to Rurin to pick up his grainswith as many pack animals as are needed to transport his wheat. Thetrader takes the grains to the towns that have road service to Lima andother cities. Here, he sells the wheat to truckers for 1,300 soles ($2.60)per arroba. The peasant is paid in coca leaves, 1,200 soles ($2.40) for 2arrobas of wheat that are worth 2,600 soles ($5.20). This is done de-spite the fact that the villagers are aware of the current cash prices ofboth coca and wheat. When they bring their crops to towns, they sellthem at regular prices and, sometimes, they even want better prices.But when coca leaves are used as the medium of exchange, regardlessof the setting of the transaction, they accept the rates established bythe other party. Thus, the trader makes a 10-fold profit, for thewholesale price of coca he paid is lower than the 200 soles retail pricevalue.20



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Edmundo Morales 149

Thus far, the peasants of Rurin have been seen only in the contextof their participation n the traditional oca trade tangled n the produc-tion of food to satisfy their coca needs. This may not be the correctand full picture of them. The next section shows how the Rurinos fitinto the new economic phenomenon created by the powerful Andeanshrub.

V. New Dynamics n the Coca and Cocaine TradeDuring he late fifties and early sixties, the government of Peru nitiateda colonization program of the jungle along the eastern slopes of theAndes by distributing and to families who were willing to relocate inthe forests. To facilitate communications between the frontier landsand metropolitan areas, the government began the construction of aroad that still had not been completed. Most land distribution ookplace in the province of Leoncio Prado, whose capital town, TingoMaria (now known as the white city ), is located at an altitude ofabout 1,250 meters above sea level.21

Since the plantations of tea, coffee, and tobacco did not yield theexpected returns, the colonists turned their lands into coca farming.Through he sixties to the

present,the need for coca increased and the

growth of cocaine-processing hideouts in the forests boomed. Thetown of Tingo Maria became the mecca of cocaine traffic. At the sametime, small towns such as Monson and Uchiza, because of their isola-tion, emerged as strategic settings for cocaine elaboration and distribu-tion (these three towns are famous for their cocaine movement, sothere is no need to give fictitious names).

Tingo Maria, unlike Monzon and Uchiza, gets consumable goodsdirectly from productive areas by air and surface transportation. Here,

the peasants of Rurin and their commodities encounter heavy compe-tition from manufactured products from urban areas. As a result,Rurinos concentrate their economic efforts on the populations ivingaround the towns of Monson and Uchiza, which are, respectively, 5and 7 days' journey from Rurin.

The Goods-Coca Exchange CircuitAfter storing up a food supply for at least 7 months, the montanerostarts his preparation or the long trip to the jungle. The first thing ofwhich he makes sure is a suitable travel companion, generally a com-padre, a relative, or a close friend from the community. His secondtask is to secure good transportation, that is, mules and donkeys.Horses are not used because they are not as strong as mules andmontanero donkeys. The owner of the pack animal to be used on thetrip receives a llanqui in money or in kind. Only after both companionand animals or transportation re procured will the montanero peasantset an approximate date of departure.



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The best goods for commodity exchange in the jungle are wheat,broad beans, common vetch (arveja) meals, and dried pork and lamb.

The peasant takes his grains to be milled at the water mills about 1 hourfrom the community, paying a rate of 50 soles (10?) for each arroba ofgrain milled. Once back from the water mills, meals are sifted and putin sacks of 4 arrobas for each donkey and 6 arrobas for each mule. Thehousewife prepares the traditional food provisions (fiambre), whichconsist of parched corn, toasted broad beans, fried spicy guinea pigs,and cooked dried lamb and pork to last for as long as 2 weeks. Thevoyagers provide themselves with one box of matches, one tin pot, andherbs against colic, diarrhea, and colds.

On the day of departure, they load their cargo and, commendingthemselves to their favorite saints, take the route that is familiar to atleast one of them. The southeast route, which takes 5-6 days one wayand 4-5 days on the return home, leads to Monson. The eastern trek,requiring a walk of 8 days at the pace of their heavily loaded animals,goes to Uchiza. Day is counted from dawn to dark (about 14 hours perday). The actual hours of walking depend on the distance of pastureavailable for their animals for 1 day's trip to the next. However, on the

average,it

implies traveling12-16 hours.

They usually spendthe

nights sleeping in caves, under leafy trees, or in abandoned houses;sometimes they are sheltered by their acquaintances along their routeof travel.

Once they reach Monson or Uchiza, they exchange their food-stuffs either directly with the planters of coca or with store owners inthe towns. Exchange is established at the rate of 2 arrobas of peasants'produce for 1 arroba of coca, with the exception of broad bean flourand dried meat (lamb or pork), which are traded on an equal basis.

They always make the return trip immediately following the transac-tion, for they cannot afford the high cost of living in the jungle.Assuming that a montanero peasant has received 10 arrobas (250

pounds) of coca leaves in the course of exchange, the logical supposi-tion would be that he would take his load of coca back home, where hecould sell it at the legal market price of 200 soles (40?) an ounce for atotal of 600,000 soles ($1,200.00). The fact is that the montanero peas-ants come home with only 1 or 2 arrobas of coca to pay the rent for thetransportation animals they used. The pack animal's huaktan (payment

for the mule or donkey) is 12.5 pounds for mules and 6 pounds forburros. The rest of the load is sold in macerating places set up in theforest and in small settlements located at high altitudes miles awayfrom the plantations.

In cocaine plants, the price of coca fluctuates between 15,000 solesand 25,000 soles ($30.00-$50.00, in 1981 exchange rate) per arroba,depending on police control and international cocaine traffic condi-tions. Thus, during the conflict between Peru and Ecuador, because of



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Edmundo Morales 151

tight control on the border, coca prices dropped to 15,000 soles perarroba. But in the summer of 1981, after the conflict was settled, prices

went up as high as 25,000 soles per arroba. In some cocaine centerswhere police raids are organized more frequently, prices are lower; forexample, in a community near Bolivia, the highest price paid for 1arroba of coca is 4,250 soles ($8.50).22

The reason why the peasants of Rurin sell their bales of cocaleaves to the cocaine entrepreneurs for less money than the proratedtotal retail value back in their villages is that the legal transit of cocafrom the jungle up to the mountains is regulated by law. If a peasant iscaught smuggling more than the maximum allowed (2 arrobas), thetotal load of coca is confiscated by the police. The legal system, in away, helps the cocaine entrepreneur to have control over the cocasupply.23

Labor and WagesMigration to the coast for wages still remains the major attraction forrural and urban residents. The peasants of Rurin have realized thatworking for wages on the coast is no longer lucrative, and now some ofthem go seasonally to the forest to work for cash.

Although people from towns and urban areas in the Andes flock tometropolitan Lima, the rate of seasonal population movement and mi-gration from Rurin to the coast has dropped dramatically. Only 21% ofthose who leave their villages for cash go to the coast.

In 1981, of the 60% (61) of the Rurinos who went to the jungle forcash, 28% (18) were wage seekers and 72% (43) traveled to trade theircommodities. The seasonal laborers work for a minimum daily wage of

1,000 soles ($2.00) in Monson, and 1,500 soles ($3.00) in Uchiza. Inaddition to the wages, they are provided with free housing and meals.The wages paid to the peasants in Monson and Uchiza are corre-spondingly 25% and 87.5% higher than the 800 soles daily minimumwage paid to the unskilled industrial laborers in Lima.

The wage laborers work mostly in coca plantations picking, dry-ing, and packing coca crops. They are paid daily without any deduc-tions. Those who have the determination to save money do other extrawork. The younger and the physically strong are reluctant to work in

coca plantation fields, for they can employ their greater physical capac-ity to perform harder work for higher pay. They are the two-feetjackasses of the cocaine industry, who transport on their backs asmany as 5 bales (5 arrobas) of dried pressed coca leaves from theplantations to the cocaine-processing hideouts, always located severalhours' walking distance from the coca fields. Or they make de-liveries of coca paste, hiking along established secret treks. The peas-ants' ability and physical strength are critical in the movement of coca



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paste. Payment for transportation is done at the destination of the tripat a fixed rate of 1,000 soles ($2.00) per arroba.

The heavy and painful walk results in a minimum daily wage of4,000 soles ($8.00) if the peasant is not able to make an additional trip.Thus, the migrant wage laborer, depending on his strength and ability,can earn as much as 120,000 soles ($240.00) per month or 500% morethan his unskilled counterpart who migrates to Lima. Even after ex-penditures to meet the high cost of living, they can still come with morecash than they ever dreamed of. The highest amount saved in 3 monthsreported in Rurin was 500,000 soles ($1,000).

They come back exhausted because of the heavy work performed;some of them even have their hands burned and chapped due to expo-sure to acids in macerating pits. Money earned in the cocaine land isalways spent on clothing, appliances, pack animals, or building a newhouse.

Food SuppliesThe seasonal wage laborers take with them, on their backs, at least 1arroba (11.5 kilos) of dried lamb or smoked pork legs (jamon); they donot take

any pack animals,for their

stayin the

jungleis

longerthan that

of the traders. When the traders take only one mule, they also includein their loads 1-3 arrobas of pork and dried lamb plus at least 4 arrobasof wheat flour. However, they usually take three to five animals. Eachtraveler transports a minimum of 6 arrobas of wheat flour and 2 ar-robas of dried lamb and smoked pork legs. As described above, forwages the migrants carry with them no more than 1 arroba of lamb and/or smoked pork legs. Table 1 presents a calculation of the average foodenergy flow from Rurin to the underworld. It shows figures for the

three most-wanted commodities in the jungle.Although these figures of food energy supply from Rurin to thecocaine underworld speak for themselves, a brief observation is neces-sary on the consequences of depriving the peasant of consuming hisown production. The need for cash and coca among the peasants pushthem to supply the cocaine land with calories and proteins even beforesatisfying their own minimum intake requirements. In this process, thepeasants take down to the jungle 362 arrobas (4,163 kilos) of foodcontaining almost 15 million calories and over 700,000 grams of pro-

teins, 53% of which are high-quality (animal) proteins.The peasants bring to the forest 6,204 days of caloric intake for

one adult at a daily average of 2,400 calories per day, or one day'sprovision for 6,204 adults. Because of the high yield of protein fromdried lamb (48.5 grams per each 100 grams of meat) and smoked porklegs (16.9 grams per each 100 grams of meat), they deprive themselvesof 23,909 days of high-quality protein for one adult or a supply for 12days for the entire community.24



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Edmundo Morales 153

TABLE 1

FOOD ENERGY SUPPLY FROM RURIN OVER 1 YEAR

Food Quantity Arrobas) Calories Protein Grams)

Wheat flour 258 10,829,550 350,106Smoked pork 52 2,326,220 101,062Dried lamb 52 1,734,200 290,030

Total 362 14,889,970 741,198

The demand or food in the rain forests has created a local market.There is in the community an exchange economy concentrated oncollecting food to satisfy both cash supply and food demand in thejungle. The six small bodegueros in Rurin trade brown sugar, deter-gents, alcohol, and basic medicines for smoked pork legs and wheat.Half an arroba of brown sugar worth 650 soles ($1.30) s exchanged or1 arroba of wheat or one pork leg. Wheat is usually sold to townsmentraders, whereas pork legs are transported o the rain forests.

Cocaine EntrepreneurshipThe traditional subsistence agricultural conomy does not satisfy theexigencies created by the fashionable way of life coming with the mod-ernization programs n the area.25 As a result, many peasants and mes-tizos get involved in local or national cocaine traffic, or they take the

eastway to the new frontier and, where they open their macerat-ing pits to try to accumulate wealth that they could not do legally.To become an underground ntrepreneur, hey say, is much better

than breaking one's back in agriculture or working for wages in themetropolis.Because of the abundance of the coca plant, one would assume

that it would be fairly easy to get started in the macerating business.But it is not that simple to be a successful entrepreneur; somedifficulties and complexities come with the organization of the busi-ness. There are two kinds of entrepreneurs n the preparation ofcocaine. There is the planter who is self-sufficient in labor (familyenterprise) and capital and who, sometimes, has his own connectionsin the national market. But not every planter is able to take over thewhole process by himself. Thus, the second kind of entrepreneur, hecapitalista, comes onto the scene.

The capitalista, the man with cash, either works in the businessin association with the planter or establishes his own laboratory n anearby settlement, where he can operate safely and get his supply ofcoca leaves directly from the planter or through the peasant traders.The coca farmer is licensed to plant tea, coffee, fruits, etc. on land



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that he legally owns, but not coca. Because the woodlands are so vastand virgin, the planter can open new plots in secret locations so thatthey always appear to be living on the crops that they are allowed toplant.

The capitalista always establishes his lab in a hamlet or a vil-lage settled by migrants from the Cordilleras. These settlers live mostlyon their small bodegas. To the settlers, the capitalista entrepreneur issomething like a benefactor who supports the group by creating jobsand by paying inflationary prices to the small bodegueros. Once hebuys off some key individuals from the group, such as municipal orpolitical representatives at the village level, and gains control of the

population, he hires mercenary guards to watch the setting. Theseguardians (matones) are authorized to ambush anyone suspected oftrying to discover the bread and butter of the group. Whoevercomes to the woodland does it either to buy the stuff or to workor sell his food commodities; no other reasons or explanations areaccepted.

The coca paste elaborators are always tied further to some en-trep6t store owners at distant towns for supply of materials and ingre-dients coming via the roads. In addition to the pits that operate in the

forests, preparation of coca paste also takes place in some villages or inthe outskirts of some towns along the eastern slopes of the Andes atlarge. This backyard-cottage-type industry is attracting the semi-urbanand rural mestizos more and more. In most cases, the highland pro-cessor sets up his pit in an isolated area where he has a peasant com-padre or debtor. This is so because the characteristic smell from themixture of dried coca leaves with kerosene and sulphuric acid isdifficult to hide in populated places. If the pit is discovered by police,the peasant who is in charge of the maceration process is almost alwaysthe ''only suspect, and, often, he goes to the county jail for a fewweeks until the mestizo clears his status with the local police.

Coca for the preparation of coca paste in the highlands comes fromthe leaves transported for legal use (chewing) or, at times, smuggled inlarge amounts by bribing the police. Once the paste has been producedeither to fill an order or to sell to the wholesalers, regardless of where itis macerated, t starts its regional and national movement.

For security reasons, transportation of the valuable rocks isdone in clearly defined stages. From the jungle, it comes first to threesmall towns located 4-12 hours' walking distance from the motorizedshipping point. Here, the paste coming from the forests is consolidatedwith that produced in the highland. The second, decisive stage usu-ally takes place during the night and involves crossing the CulebraRiver, tributary of the Amazon.

In the Andean shipping point, there are at least 10 major wholesaledealers who buy the stuff coming from the first stage. The price for1 kilo of coca paste ranges from 250,000 soles ($500.00) to 300,000 soles



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Edmundo Morales 155

($600.00), depending on police control conditions and competition. Therefined cocaine in fluffy powder form sells for 600,000 soles($1,200.00) and up per kilo. It is always assumed that the quality of thegoods is optimum; they do not test for purity.

There are two kinds of people involved in the local trafficking incocaine. There is the petty trader, who either buys coca paste from thefirst stage or goes to the jungle and brings the paste to the towns forresale to wholesale dealers. The capital with which the petty traderoperates is always less than 1 million soles ($2,000). The resale giveshim a profit of about 30%; less if brought from the first stage only. Thesecond type of drug dealer (pichicatero) is what is called the big fish

in the business. This dealer usually takes the whole process of produc-tion from planting of coca to maceration and marketing. This dealerbrings directly from the jungle no less than 10 kilos of paste and sells itto the wholesale distributors, or, sometimes, he takes it to Lima byhimself. The town wholesalers always have the petty traders

hooked, in that they lend money or pay lower prices by arguing anartificial overstock. The petty traders are always broke becausethey splurge in the towns. They are the best consumers of the servicesavailable in the coca paste terminal settings.

Coca paste from the second stage goes to the national marketvia surface transportation by buses, trucks, and private cars, or it isshipped as comestibles leaving for Lima and other cities on the coast.After a trip of about 4 hours from the second stage, in the town ofTunan there is a police station that controls traffic coming to Lima. Thedirt road is closed for 12 hours, from 6:00 P.M. to 6:00 A.M. Of the nextday. This station is responsible for searching for cocaine in the vehiclestransiting the route, but it is an impossible task for the three policemento do more than simply check personal identifications, detain suspects,or accidentially discover smuggled coca paste.

Smugglers and dealers have their own ways of finding out theirstatus with the police. When they suspect or they know that policeare awaiting them, they use specialized hikers (pasadores) ormuleteers, who take the load on pack animals or on their backs alongunpatrolled passages to specific points of pickup. Subsequent to theTunan control station, there are four more police checks at about 3,800meters above sea level with no major risk because of the cold weatherand lack of

equipmentto detect cocaine.

The commercial movement of coca paste in the second stage isalmost completely open. Everyone in the towns knows who is who inthe business. For example, in December 1982 I was sitting and chattingwith a small bodeguera, when suddenly an unknown young womaninterrupted the conversation to offer 2 kilos (she did not say of what).The bodeguera answered by saying that she did not buy thosethings ; instead, she recommended her to the local postmaster.

The long processing of coca paste, food energy, and human capital



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required for the production and transportation are supplied by thepeasants and some poor rural people, whereas the underground com-

mercial movement is controlled by local middle-class mestizos se-cure in government jobs, small business, and commercial agriculture(e.g., the former head of the National Bank, who had been fired fol-lowing a local development budget scandal, had assembled a secretrefining laboratory in a suburban section of Lima in association withtwo relatives. The police found in his possession 30 kilos of cocainehydrochloride).26

Coca Paste UseIn addition to being involved with the underworld, the peasants ofRurin, themselves, are also becoming victims of coca paste. Cocachewing, especially among young male peasants, is now being replacedby the use of coca paste-a more addictive and dangerous habit.

Those who work for wages in the underground laboratories haverelatively easy access to coca paste and cocaine hydrochloride, fortheir labor is directly related to the processing of the substance. Duringtheir stay, these peasant laborers consume the drug regularly in eitherbasic or

purifiedform, without

havingto

payfor it. As one informant

asserted, To them it is just like they were working in a bake shop andtaking home some bread.

When they return to Rurin, some montaneros or wage laborersbring home only coca leaves; others come back with both coca leavesand cocaine. Of the 61 peasants who went to the jungle (60% of thesample), 80% (48) had used cocaine regularly. Of these cocaine users,75% (36) were in favor of cocaine in its rock form (coca paste) because

it is more convenient to carry along. Veteran chewers (40%) who

tended to be the older group of the sample were, however, in favor ofcontinuing their traditional habit. They argued that cocaine was toostrong and it made them feel strange. An overwhelming majority ofthe young (60%) bring coca only to give to their relatives or to sell; forthemselves they take cocaine.

Although it was difficult to weigh always the full amount ofcocaine, random measurements ranged between 200 and 400 grams. Itmust be underscored that these calculations show only the amountsthat the respondents had with them for their daily use; they did not

reveal their actual personal stock at home. Existence of more sub-stance in stock is obvious, as some peasants who come back from thejungle exchange part of their coca paste possessions for other con-sumer goods coming from the metropolitan areas (e.g., a local commu-nity teacher secures his supply of coca paste by trading two contracep-tive inserts or three rubber condoms for about 1gram of coca paste). InPeru, such items are difficult to buy in small towns and villages.

In cocaine-elaboration settings, coca paste is smoked mixed with



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Edmundo Morales 157

tobacco or marijuana. In the highlands, where cigarettes and marijuanaare expensive, the little brownish rocks are licked. Other forms of coca

paste use were not noticed during fieldwork.Besides the obvious availability of coca paste, there are two main

reasons for the consumption of the substance in the jungle: economicand social. Since the cocaine entrepreneur has to provide the peasantwith food during his employment period, it is to the entrepreneur'sadvantage to keep production expenses low by letting his laborersconsume coca paste, for food is very expensive in the area. Socially,the Andean peasant is used to working under the stimulation of coca,but the low status assigned to the coca chewer makes some of theyoung aware of the social stigma that has been attached to coca chew-ing.27 Furthermore, since cocaine use is a vice of the Western culture,they believe that being modern in this regard implies imitation in theuse of the drug.

VI. ConclusionIn conclusion, rather than summarize the findings, I will present brieflythe general scope of the problem of coca and cocaine in both Peru andthe international market.

So far, the sociological and mental health aspects of cocaine havebeen the concern of social researchers and scholars. It is timely andlong overdue to integrate the mechanics of production and the dynam-ics of distribution of cocaine in source countries and to look at theproblem of drug abuse from a broader point of view. The politicalconnotation of the international underworld should not be an excuse toexclude this important issue from scholarly practice.

It is hoped that this work will contribute to the beginning of a

systematic and scientific approach to explain and understand the cul-tural and economic meaning of the cocaine industry, that is, the mean-ing of cocaine in its natural environment before it turns into one of themajor causes of mental health problems.

The discussion has demonstrated that the Andean peasant hasintensified his traditional ecological interchange and that this in-tensification has become an important factor in the development andsustenance of the international cocaine supply. However, the peas-ant's support cannot be censurable, for his participation in the illicit

economy is inevitable. In this region, the traditional way of life is moreand more intertwined with coca trade, and the cash economic activitiesare directly related to occupations derived from the new coca trade.The demand for labor and food energy in the jungle and the need forcash in the Andes plow the ground for the coexistence of two differentgroups creating a new and complex body of social relations of produc-tion and consumption.

The increase of local peasant economy around cocaine brings



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about changes in the behavior of the indigenous people. While the baseof their economy, agriculture, remains totally dependent on nature and

on old methods, their traditional and modern needs (coca and cash)drive them to supply calories before satisfying even their ownminimum intake requirements.

In the production, distribution, and marketing of coca paste andcocaine there is a clear division of labor at local and national levels. Asin any social relations of production, those who contribute most in thecreation of the commodity (cocaine) are less economically rewardedthan those who market the end product in the underground industry.Local middle-class merchants, professionals, and some governmentofficials are the ones who profit the most from cocaine dealings. Moneyreceived from cocaine traffic is invested in real estate or in the expan-sion of small businesses in small towns. The peasants spend their earn-ings on the purchase of commodities that do not help raise their stan-dard of living. This unequal distribution of wealth, however illegal,furthers the already existing social cleavages in the society as a whole.

At the international level, Peru as a cocaine-producing countryfaces a serious dilemma. The national government intends to protectthe social habit of the majority in the Andes and blames consumersocieties for the existence of cocaine in Peru, but it accepts the imposi-tion of new policies of coca production from the United States. Thisquasi-bilateral agreement between a country with limited economicresources and an international power makes Peru dependent on foreigninvestment for the solution of its traditional and modern social prob-lems, namely, eradication of cocaine and preservation of coca chew-ing. The new policies of coca production and the ambiguous politicalposition of the Peruvian government obscures the complexity of the

social processes developing in a society whose total worldview is in-separable from the coca plant.Overproduction of cocaine in the Andes is visible in the high qual-

ity of cocaine hydrochloride available to the consumer at relatively lowprices. It is common to find one gram of high-quality cocaine (alkaloidcontent of 20% or higher) at about $50 per gram.28 The existence of thenew version of cocaine, bazooka, may well be the same coca pastesmoked by the indigenous in the Andes. It comes to America unrefinedbecause of the tight drug-enforcement control put on the international

refining centers and the overabundance of coca paste in the Andes. Thepharmacological effects from smoking coca paste (bazooka) may bemuch more dangerous than the consumption of cocaine hydrochloride.

The regulation of coca and cocaine in the Andes seems to be theexclusive domain of drug-enforcement agencies. Effectiveness in thereduction of the production of coca and the elaboration of cocaine forthe black market is doubtful, for knowledge of the scope of the problemis very limited and legalistic. As long as (1) there is demand for



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Edmundo Morales 159

cocaine, (2) the farming of coca for traditional use is allowed, and (3)the peasants' economy is tied to coca leaves, cocaine supply will stay

more or less unchanged. If there is some degree of seriousness aboutthe problem-unless drug control programs and policies are merepolitical shows or the ultimate goal is to make cocaine an exclusivedessert for the upper social echelons by way of scarcity and highprices-rethinking the problem of the significance of coca for the greatproportion of Andean people is the answer. Setting up fires on smallcoca farms and crowding jails and prisons with petty planters, dealers,and unemployed people who resort to cocaine traffic are unlikely to bethe best preventive measures.

The United States' direct participation against the production ofcocaine in the Andes is a legitimate action. This concern reflects theimpact of drug abuse on American society. One of the solutions toreducing this problem is cutting the supply by crop substitution in thejungles of the two largest coca-producing countries, Bolivia and Peru.In the Andes, however, behind the production of cocaine lies the liveli-hood of the majority of the Indians, whose best cash source is in theunderground industry. Neither coca-producing governments nor inter-national

policymakersoffer the Andean Indian other economic alterna-

tives to substitute progressively for the significant role of cocaine in theAndean economy.

Finally, parallel to the substitution of coca for other crops, invest-ment in agriculture in the highlands must be considered. In order tominimize the ecological interdependence among the peasants from theCordilleras, the jungle coca planters, and cocaine entrepreneurs, eco-nomic activities based on agriculture must be promoted. These eco-nomic development programs and projects must be oriented to change

the Andean culture by introducing technologies appropriate to the soilas well as to the social values of the groups that live along the Andesranges. Reality in the highlands is totally different from that in met-ropolitan areas. The cultural, economic, and social stages of the An-dean indigenous groups must also be included in the agenda of alterna-tives in the solution of the almost omnipresent and pandemic drugdilemma.

Notes* There are neither enough nor appropriate words to express my gratitude

to Frances F. Harris for her editorial help. I am also grateful o Sol Miller orhis valuable comments to improve the paper.

1. Coca paste, also called cocaine basic paste or cocaine sulphate, is awhite semisolid or solid substance that contains cocaine sulphate acid, metha-nol, kerosene, alkaline compounds, sulphuric acid, and other impurities.

2. In 1984, legal coca farming in Peru alone was about 60,000 hectares(information from Ministerio de Agricultura del Peru, Unidad de EstadisticaAgricola, Lima, 1985).Both legal and illegal coca production may be estimated



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to be at least 100,000 ha (Edmundo Morales, Amazon Rainstorm That WetsUncle Sam: An Ethnographic Approach of the Social and Political Significanceof Coca and Cocaine in Peru, paper presented at the American Society ofCriminology, San Diego, November 1985), which yield about 170,400 MT ofcoca leaves, or about 1,500,000 of coca paste (400 MT of cocaine hydrochlo-ride). For the same year (1984), only 5,410 MT of coca leaves were consumedby traditional coca-chewing Indians (Boletin Lima 6, no. 34 [July 1984]: 68).Between 1982 and 1984, 23,774 k of coca paste and 595 k of cocaine hydrochlo-ride were seized in Peru (International Narcotics Matters, U.S. Embassy,Lima, August 1985).

3. The President's Commission on Organized Crime, Organized Crimeand Cocaine Trafficking, Record of Hearing IV, (Washington, D.C.: Govern-ment

Printing Office,November

27-29, 1984), p. 4,estimates that

drugtrafficking is a $80 billion a year industry. The commission calculates thatover 40 metric tons [of cocaine] enter our borders every year. Taking as a

base figure the average price of US$100 per gram of cocaine hydrochloride, the40 MT of cocaine translates into at least US$40 billion, 50% of the estimatedamounts from illicit drugs. In the United States, in 1982, 21.6 million peopletried cocaine at least once (National Institute on Drug Abuse, Cocaine Usein America: Epidemiological and Clinical Perspectives, Research MonographSeries no. 61 [Washington, D.C.: Department of Health and Human Services,1985], p. 1).

4. Edward P. Lanning, Peru before the Incas (Englewood Cliffs, N.J.:Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1967), p. 77.

5. Roderick E. Burchard, Coca y trueque de alimentos, in Recip-rocadid e intercambio en los Andes peruanos, ed. Giorgio Alberti and EnriqueMayer (Lima: Instituto de Estudios Peruanos, 1974), pp. 209-51.

6. Pedro Cieza de Leon, The Incas (Norman: University of OklahomaPress, 1959), chap. 87, pp. 259-60.

7. For more detailed information on the social and cultural use of coca inthe Andes or Peru, see the following: Joel Hanna, Coca Leaf Use in SouthernPeru: Some Biosocial Aspects, American Anthropologist 76, no. 2 (June1974): 281-96; Burchard; Andrew Fuchs, Coca Chewing and High-AltitudeStress: Possible Effects of Coca Alkaloids on

Erythropoiesis,Current An-

thropology 19, no. 2 (June 1978): 277-91; Joseph Gagliano, La medicinapopular y la coca en el Peru: Un andlisis hist6rico de actitude, AmericaIndigena 38, no. 4 (October-December 1978): 789-805. On the pharmacolog-ical effects of coca paste smoking, see Raul Jeri, Coca Paste Smoking inSome Latin American Countries: A Severe and Unabated Form of Addiction,Bulletin of Narcotics 36, no. 2 (1984): 15-31.

8. David Strug, The Foreign Politics of Cocaine: Comments on a Plan toEradicate the Coca Leaf in Peru, Journal of Drug Issues 13, no. 1 (Winter1983): 135-45.

9. Raul Jeri, Further Experience with the Syndrome Produced by Coca

Paste Smoking, Cocaine 1980 (Lima: Inter-American Seminar on Medicaland Sociological Aspects of Coca and Cocaine, 1980), pp. 1-6.10. Bazooka or chicle is the unrefined coca paste sold in the streets of

major cities in the United States. Although it seems that bazooka and chicle areinterchangeable terms for coca paste, chicle is the coca paste that is the resultof a miscalculation in the amounts of sulphuric acid added. The error may takeplace during one of the two preparations of acid fluid.

11. David Caplovitz, The Working Addict (New York: City University ofNew York, 1976), p. 1.



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Edmundo Morales 161

12. In modern Peruvian anthropology, peasant community (comunidad

campecina) s a group of individuals peasants) organized around he commonuse of land. The five villages of Rurin are part of one legal community. Vil-lage and community are not equivalent words. Village is the smallestpolitical division of the national territory; community as a legal organizationhas a broader meaning, n that it can imply the existence of social bonds ratherthan a mere geographical or territorial ontinuum.

13. From the District Census Office, Llamellin, Antonio Raimondi, An-cash, Peru, 1981. The national census took place during my fieldwork, and Iwas included as part of the population.

14. The political groups n the community have not come to terms on theirposition regarding and distribution in Rurin. While one group wants thecooperative system of production, he other pursues private andownership.

15. I am a professional photographer nd use audiovisual aids to comple-ment participation and observation. A collection of 28 photographs howinglife in the Andes, derived from the fieldwork, is being displayed at the aca-demic level.

16. Interview with a retired recaudador tax collector) in Lima.17. During work, there are about four breaks (hames), which consist of

renewing he coca quids. Besides coca leaves, chicha and/or alcohol is servedto the workers.

18. In some areas, such as the Central Andes, people mix their coca

chewings with the ashes of quinua (Chenopodium quinoa) stalks.19. In Quechua, Ilanqui means sandal. In this case, it has the socialmeaning of putting sandals on the relationship o make it walk [function]better.

20. Coca trade has always been controlled by town and city mestizos. Thepeasant from the village has not been able to break nto the economics of cocaother than consuming the leaves.

21. Ministerio de Guerra del Peru, Catdlogd de nombres geogrdficos delPeru (Lima: Ministerio de Guerra del Peru, 1981),p. 45.

22. Caretas (Lima), no. 620 (October 1980), p. 26.23. Because of the presence of drug-enforcement gents in the forests,

more and more dry coca leaves are now smuggled up to the highlands, wheresecret and safe cocaine pits are set up. This was discovered during research n1981.

24. Caloric and protein contents were calculated ollowing methods usedin Food Composition Table for Use in Latin America (Washington, D.C.:Interdepartmental ommittee or Nutrition and National Defense, 1961).

25. Edmundo Morales, Land Reform, Social Change, and Moderniza-tion in the National Periphery: A Study of Five Villages in the NortheasternAndes of Peru (Ph.D. diss., City University of New York, 1983),p. 155.

26. I was paying my third visit to the town when the ex-bank-employee's

drug operation was raided in Lima.27. Gagliano see n. 7 above).28. Bruce Johnson and Terry Williams, Cocaine Distribution Net-

works, research proposal submitted o the National Institute of Justice (NewYork: Narcotic and Drug Research, Inc., January 1985),p. 2.

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