A review on the state’s capacities from the resistances to forced eradication of coca crops in a coca valley from Peru

Abstract

By 2014, the Peruvian government decided to eradicate illicit crops in a coca basin. Despite these intentions, those actions were not implemented, in principle due to the resistance of local actors. However, a detailed analysis of the situation shows that a decisive factor was the opposition between the state agencies involved in the implementation of these control measures. This case allows to discuss how the tensions between state agencies with a) different approaches to state intervention at a local level and b) different reach in decision-making process, impact the capacity to implement control measures in regions affected by illicit markets.