Lima, Peru – On March 19th, a group of protestors and various indigenous activist groups gathered near the central square in Lima to raise awareness about the spiritual and cultural uses of the coca leaf, roughly two weeks after the International Narcotics Control Board of the United Nations urged the Peruvian government to consider banning the use and sale of the leaf.
Lima, Peru – On March 19th, a group of protestors and various indigenous activist groups gathered near the central square in Lima to raise awareness about the spiritual and cultural uses of the coca leaf, roughly two weeks after the International Narcotics Control Board of the United Nations urged the Peruvian government to consider banning the use and sale of the leaf.
The protest, lead by Peruvian congresswoman Hilaria Supa, called for the government and the world to consider the medicinal, cultural, and traditional uses of the leaf and urged the population to continue the fight for awareness and defense of the plant.
"For our people it is nourishment," Supa said. "It gives us nourishment of peace, nourishment of tranquility, of wisdom, of conscience, and of culture."
The protest was planned to take place in the Plaza de Armas, the central square of Lima, at noon, but at around 12:15 p.m., police blocked all entrances to the plaza, prohibiting the roughly 100 protesters from getting closer to the government palace. The protest was relocated to a square a half a block away.
A line of 12 police officers formed a barrier between protestors and the path to the central square. Four women in traditional dress passed out coca leaves to passersby while Supa declared the reason for the protest and condemned the recommendations of the UN. The protest lasted roughly a half an hour and there were no conflicts between police and protestors.
The INCB demanded that Peru and Bolivia "initiate action without delay with a view to eliminating uses of coca leaf, including coca leaf chewing" in recommendation seven of the 2007 Annual Report published on March 4. The report implies a connection between the coca leaf and the manufacture and traffic of cocaine.
However, protestors argued that the chewing of "mother coca" is not associated with the cocaine trade and that it is an essential part of the indigenous culture of Peru.
"To the United States [and the UN], I say to you, why don´t you educate your people about the culture behind the coca leaf," Supa said. "White people have transformed it into a drug but the coca leaf is not guilty of narcotraffic."
The coca leaf has been chewed in spiritual ceremonies for thousands of years, and is still used today by the indigenous population as well as the general public.
In recent years the leaf has been industrialized. It has been made into soaps, candies, crackers, and sold in packages for chewing. Some tourists who hike various trails to Machu Picchu chew the leaf to combat altitude sickness as well.
Australian tourist Lee Horsford chewed coca leaves during his four day hike in the Peruvian highlands and found that the leaf helped combat effects caused by the high elevation.
"I started chewing it as a novelty, really, but as soon as I stopped chewing it, I started feeling a really severe headache and it was hard to breathe," Horsford said. "Really, I think you are stupid if you don´t chew it on the hike."
Many Peruvians also believe that chewing the coca leaf brings physical as well as spiritual benefits. Manuel Seminario, a 72 year-old engineer and lawyer, believes that coca leaves are the reason for his youthful appearance.
"It gives me strength, energy, and youthfulness," Seminario said.
He also believes that the UN only wishes to ban the use of coca leaf chewing because chemical pharmaceutical companies want the monopoly on the industrialization of coca.
"Almost every medicine you take has a base in coca," Seminario said. "That is why they want to take it away from us."
Though the Peruvian government has not taken any official action to ban coca chewing, groups are worried that the government will ban the industrialization of the leaf.
Congresswoman Supa reiterated the importance of defending the coca leaf as she became emotional toward the end of the speech.
"If they take away the coca leaf, they will continue taking away pieces of our culture until we are no longer Peruvians they will kill us," Supa said.
The group, made up of various smaller groups including YACHAY, Concejo Nacional de Pueblos Indígenas Originarios, and congresswoman Supa´s dispatch, has planned protests throughout the country in the coming months and weeks.
Jenessa Stark is a freelance journalist currently traveling throughout Central and South America in an attempt to combine some of her greatest passions: journalism, learning about other cultures, and Spanish.