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This study analyses the way social problems evolve, and could be overcome by policy decisions, taking Bolivia as a case study. The international cooperation that began with the Single Convention of 1961 opened the door to the militarization of Bolivian crime policy, inspired by the “war on drugs” US paradigm. Foreign intervention weakened Bolivian institutions, creating an opportunity for social movements in defence of the coca leaf in rural areas. Policy change started in 2006 after Evo Morales’ election as President. A new policy paradigm was adopted and the “coca diplomacy” was deployed allowing the government to avoid the repressive foundation of international law and, at the same time, to nourish a new national narrative. The latest step on the “nationalisation” of crime policy was the criminal law adopted at the end of 2017 and abrogated a month later showing the limits of the impact of the “coca si, cocaina no” paradigm.

espanolEl articulo analiza el funcionamiento practico de las visitas carcelarias semestrales realizadas por el poder judicial chileno desde una perspectiva socio-juridica. Para ello, se plasman los resultados de un estudio empirico de una muestra de 90 actas (registros) de visita judicial a 32 penales del pais de dos anos: 2010 y 2016. Se comparan los resultados obtenidos con los datos aportados por los estudios realizados antes de la implementacion nacional de la reforma procesal penal. La hipotesis del articulo es que la reforma procesal penal ha generado un cambio en la cultura juridica que podria haber modificado la practica de estas visitas. Sin embargo, este no es el caso. El analisis revela que, a pesar de los cambios sociales y legales, los jueces solo cumplen formalmente con una obligacion impuesta por la ley. Las actas reflejan un reconocimiento judicial de la administrativizacion de la ejecucion de las penas privativas de libertad, que se desentiende de someter la actividad penitenciaria a un control judicial. El articulo concluye que la visita semestral a las carceles en un Estado Democratico de Derecho deberia mejorarse y complementarse con un organo judicial especializado con competencia en materia penitenciaria. EnglishThe article analyzes the functioning of the biannual prison visits carried out by the Chilean Judicial Branch from a socio-legal perspective. It presents the results of an empirical study of a sample of 90 records of judicial visits to 32 prisons in the country over two years: 2010 and 2016. We compare the results obtained with data provided by studies conducted prior to the national implementation of the criminal procedure reform. The hypothesis of the article is that the criminal procedure reform has generated a change in the legal culture that could have changed the practice of these visits. However, this is not the case. The analysis reveals that despite social and legal changes, there is a lack of judicial interest in controlling legal compliance inside prisons. Judges only formally comply with an obligation imposed by law. Legal compliance inside prisons is left to the Executive. The report concludes that sixmonthly visits to prisons in a democratic state governed by the rule of law should be improved and complemented by a judicial body with responsibility for prison matters.

espanolEl estudio de las politicas en materia de control de drogas en Bolivia es un objeto de vital relevancia para entender la evolucion politica del pais desde la vuelta de la democracia en 1982. La Ley 1008 de 1988 reforzo la militarizacion de la politica criminal inspirado en la doctrina de la seguridad nacional y la amalgama entre cultivo, consumo y narcotrafico impuestos por las Convenciones de la ONU para el control de drogas. Los conflictos sociales y politicos que siguieron en defensa del cultivo de coca favorecieron la movilizacion de organizaciones campesinas que terminaron por llevar al poder al MAS en 2006. Este articulo analiza la construccion de una politica anti-narcotrafico militarizada e impuesta desde el exterior y su posterior desmantelamiento en nombre de la soberania nacional y la prevencion del consumo a partir del analisis del derecho positivo, datos estadisticos, informes y prensa. EnglishThe study of drug policies in Bolivia is of vital importance to understand its political evolution since the return to democracy in 1982. The Law 1008 of 1988 reinforced the militarization of criminal policy inspired by doctrine of national security and the amalgam between cultivation, consumption and drug trafficking imposed by the UN international drug control conventions. The social and political conflicts that followed defending the cultivation of the coca leaf favored the mobilization of peasant organizations that eventually paved the path to power for MAS in 2006. This article analyzes the construction of a militarized anti-drug policy imposed from abroad and its posterior dismantling in the name of national sovereignty and prevention analyzing positive law, statistical data, reports and press.