Anti and pro-government coca farmers clash outside the disputed leaf market in the Bolivian capital.
Thousands of coca farmers have marched into the Bolivian capital of La Paz and set ablaze what they claimed was an illegal new market for the leaf. The growers, who marched five days from the Yungas region north of La Paz, broke through police lines on Thursday and attacked with dynamite, firecrackers and Molotov cocktails. The market was established in October 2021 in addition to two existing wholesale coca markets chartered under Bolivian law in La Paz and Cochabamba. In those markets, coca quantities and buyers are regulated.Agustin Mamani, one of the march's leaders, said the marchers numbered more than 10,000.
The coca growers said they would not return to their regions until the government resolves the conflict.