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. Chapare is located in the department of Cochabamba, where growing coca is legal for up to 200 square meters of cultivation per family. Chapare has a history of coca-leaf production for use in narcotics and traditional medicine. Agustin’s farm comprises a total of 12.3 acres divided between different crops, including coca. His adult son, Victor, met this reporter outside the family’s small, single-story home with a sheet metal …
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