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Evo Morales proudly displays the certificate verifying his status as a member of Bolivia's congress. In August 1997, he became the first coca farmer to join the Bolivian congress. Morales is a leader of Bolivia's indigenous coca farmers. Coca leaves, key to native Bolivian culture, can be used to make cocaine. Efforts to eradicate Bolivia's coca crops, implemented by the United States and supported by Bolivia's government, have economically devastated the nation's Chapare and Yungas regions, where the plant is primarily grown. There is growing discontent over these policies, which has galvanized Morales politically: in August 2002, he was nearly elected president.
REUTERS
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