International Connection

I would like to focus on one of the prompt questions for my essay. And this is the

question of privilege. Privilege is something that is talked about very often in today’s world, you

hear this mostly when relating to race, but privilege exists in many other aspects of life as well,

and that includes work. Whether you are a multi-million dollar businessman, a waiter/waitress,

farmer, or any other type of worker there is privilege present. How is privilege shown and

reflected in the life of a coca farmer or a kingpin drug dealer?

For us to be able to understand this, we must first understand what privilege is.

Merriam-Webster defines privilege as, “a right or immunity granted as a peculiar benefit,

advantage, or favor”. In common terms, this means someone or something with privilege has a

greater advantage in aspects of life that others may or may not. Now how does this affect a coca

farmer and a cocaine drug lord.

First, we will speak about the privilege found in a coca farmer’s life. In the readings, I

couldn’t find anything that explicitly spoke about the privilege or the lack thereof, that a farmer

sees or receives, but I feel as if after the readings, discussions, videos, and assignments, I am

pretty well versed in the subject and can make fairly accurate assumptions. The privilege around

a coca farmer I think all depends on who is dealing with them. If a drug dealer sees the farmers

as a very valuable asset that helps move their business, they may see different types of privilege.

They may see privilege in the sense that they may see a large amount of money coming their way

due to their production. They may see cartel protection from other rival cartels. If they work hard

enough, the cartel may supply workers for the farmer and the farmer may become a supervisor.

But I do not see this happening. I think that farmers may not see very much privilege in their

coca farming career. This is true because, to hold power, you must allow privilege to a select few.
If the farmers see all kinds of privileges, like making a lot of money, they may not want to farm

anymore and leave the farming to the cartel men. The cartel must keep privilege to a minimum in

order to hold power over the farmers.

The cartel’s privilege is extremely different. This is present in Pablo Escobar’s life. In the

reading “The Mendalin Cartel”, we see this in the form of money, power, and respect. Pablo

Escobar and his cartel made nearly 60 million dollars daily, this meant that they could get away

with almost anything by just paying it off. This wealth comes with an extreme amount of

privilege. Pablo’s cartel was so powerful that they controlled much of the government, so much

that he even held a seat in congress for two years. And many people in the country respected

Pablo so much that they would lie to the police, give Pablo information, and even keep watch for

Escobar and his cartel. If you mix a multi-billion dollar net worth, a seat in congress, and respect

of the common folk, the amount of privilege is endless. You will be seen as a god. People will

bow to you, die for you, and even kill for you. This privilege is very different from the privilege

of a coca farmer.