Colombia: thousands take to the streets in third national strike in two weeks
Protests put more pressure on unpopular president Iván Duque, who is engaged in a ‘national dialogue’ with strike organisers
Protests put more pressure on unpopular president Iván Duque, who is engaged in a ‘national dialogue’ with strike organisers
Colombians have taken to the streets for a third national strike in two weeks, piling more pressure on the unpopular rightwing president, Iván Duque, and his proposed tax reforms.
Thousands thronged the streets of Bogotá, the capital,
Thousands thronged the streets of Bogotá, the capital,
shutting down much of the citys historic centre, indicating that the unrest will continue while Duque engages in a “national dialogue” with strike organisers.
“We’ll be out on the streets until Duque listens to us,” said Andres López, a student at a gathering on one of Bogotá’s
“We’ll be out on the streets until Duque listens to us,” said Andres López, a student at a gathering on one of Bogotá’s
main commercial streets. “We’re not scared of the government.”Hundreds of thousands of people joined the first national strike on 21 November, and have turned out in daily demonstrations since then, initially sparked by proposed cuts to pensions.
Though that reform was never formally announced, it became a lightning rod for widespread dissatisfaction with the government of Duque, whose approval rating has dropped to just 26% since he took office in August last year.
Protesters are also angry at the lack of support for the historic 2016 peace deal with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc), which formally ended five decades of civil war that killed 260,000 and forced more than 7 million to flee their homes.
Others are protesting in defense of indigenous people and rural activists, who continue to be murdered at alarming rates. A recent airstrike against a camp of dissident rebel drug traffickers left at least eight minors dead, adding to protesters’ fury.
