Bolivia was once known for the richness of their soil. The people grew potatoes and vegetables. They also raised their own animals for the meat to provide food for their families. They would sell their crops at the marks. In the 1980s the way of life would change for many families. Western countries, Europe and America were introduced to the number one drug of choice, cocaine. The cocoa bush grows best six thousand feet below sea level in the rich soil of the Amazon basin and rain forest. Once the cocoa bush is ready to be harvested, the leaves are dried on large drying clothes and the older people or young children walk up and down the clothes turning the leaves with whisk brooms, which then becomes a paste and refined into cocaine. The men and boys of the families are sent to work in the Charpare to prepare the cocaine and sell it. Making up to three times the wages in the villages once sold. This leaves the older adults and young children to plant and harvest fields of potatoes, corn, and fava beans. The men of the household stop coming home which in turn the economy in the villages is declining. The villager’s can no longer afford their economy due to inflation. The prices in the towns would change by the …show more content…
The leaves are soaked in Kerosene, salt, acetone, and sulfuric acid with someone trampling on the leaves for several days. The corrosive mixtures dissolve these people’s shoes, boots, and their skin and their feet become diseased. Once their feet get this disease they are unable to stand and walk and start using their hands to do the job. The hands are eaten away faster than their feet and soon they begin smoking the paste from the leaves to relieve the pain and get high and delusional. Many of the workers are fed the cocaine in their food to keep them working and preventing them to