Security & Strategic Review - January 2026

Bolivia’s new centre-right government took office on 8 November with a promise of sweeping change after nearly two decades of rule by the left-wing Movimiento al Socialismo (MAS). This extends to the country’s coca sector, in which harvests swelled under the MAS beyond the legal limit that is permitted for traditional use. A report published on 15 December by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) highlighted a further rise in coca production in 2024, prompting President Rodrigo Paz’s government to step up eradication efforts.