The Washington Office on Latin America and the Institute for Policy Studies are pleased to invite you to a brown bag discussion:

Assessing Drug Control Policies in Bolivia

with

Kathryn Ledebur, Director, Andean Information Network, Cochabamba, Bolivia

Statistics recently released by the U.S. government and the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) present a confusing picture: the U.S. reported that coca production remained statistically unchanged in 2006, while the United Nations reported an 8 percent increase. Kathryn Ledebur, Executive Director of the Andean Information Network (AIN), will analyze this data and the impact of the Morales Administration’s drug control policies to date. She will also assess the overall political and economic situation -- with special attention to the progress of the Constituent Assembly -- and U.S. policy toward Bolivia.

Director of AIN since 1999, Ms. Ledebur studied at FLACSO in Quito, Ecuador and has lived in Bolivia for more than a decade. Her work takes her regularly to the Chapare coca growing region. Ms. Ledebur is the author of “Bolivia: Clear Consequences,” in Coletta A. Youngers and Eileen Rosin, eds., Drugs and Democracy in Latin America: The Impact of U.S. Policy (Boulder, Colorado: Lynne Reinner Publishers, 2005). AIN is dedicated to investigation, analysis, education and dialogue on the impact of U.S.-funded counterdrug efforts in Bolivia.

Please RSVP to Jessica Eby jeby@wola.org or call (202) 797-2171. For additional information, contact Ms. Eby or Sanho Tree at stree@igc.org or (202) 787-5266.