Live Thread🧵 of today's protests in Bogota #ParoNacional9J I'm near the airport at the scene where the Misak were gassed this morning near a statue of Christopher Columbus. Rain continues
ESMAD looks cute cuddling
Tactical community aesthetic enhancement on the two statues in the square, which have been splattered w red paint
Left: Colombia, "the origin of genocide"
Right: Spanish queen Isabella "No to colonialism"
Misak people talking to press (in Spanish)
Summary: (paraphrased) the story of colonization here in Colombia has been turned into a hero's take normalized by society. For the Misak, it is a story of blood and repression, much like the protests
Queen Isabella with her Imperial guard
Ladycop
My god she's so young
Things pretty calm here now. A lot of press present. I'm gonna head over to the main marches organized by the strike committee. Back with ya soon!
"I am Minga. I am Antifa"
By the way, for those not in Bogotá, it has been *dumping* rain all day. Surely the police are relieved about that
My Venezuelan roomates are convinced the Colombian government seeds the clouds before protest days. Hahaha
I dont believe that, but it does seem to almost always rain on the big days
Current scene at Tequendama hotel to welcome the CIDH commision
Etse pueblo no se rinde carajo
🔊⬆️
Sebastián, a young protester on why he's here (Español)
Things getting real tense
People NOT happy w the police to say the least
Yelling "murderers" at the cops blocking the entrance to the hotel
Rain stopped. We got more people rolling in from other marches
Some shots of the crowd
The skinny from your man on the ground
La guardia campesina has arrived from Catatumbo. That's a hella violent conflict zone near the Venezuelan border
10 minute break to find some aspirin. I'm skipping some much needs dental surgery to be here today 🤕
"A Colombia without ESMAD" (the infamous riot cops who have been responsible for 20 of 60 odd deaths since protests began over a month ago
La guardia campesina has formed a human shield between protesters and police
The current scene
Protesters read, one by one, the names of the 71 who have died since protests began #ParoNacional9J
Watch the fuck out guys, even the cows are pissed
Taking a break to go home, swap memory cards and charge cameras. I will be back for night protests after I figure out where they're concentrated. Thread paused but not over!
Gassing people is hard work. Sometimes you gotta bring snacks for the boys after they repress the pueblo
Ok we're back! I'm headed to Monumento de los héroes to check out the vibe after sunset. If i hear there are demos at Portal Resistencia I might head down there after as well
Ok i hear ESMAD is coming down hard on the Minga near the airport. I'm looking for a cab now to get there
So the Misak left after being gassed. I heard they were headed down 26 from human rights workers. We're trying to follow In a can
I dunno guys. Hahaha. I should have stayed at heroes i think. We followed 26 all the way to Centro and I don't see anything. I think the rain may have scared people off
Welp. Sometimes it happens. I'ma get a beer and call this. Sorry i missed the ESMAD confrontation. These things are unpredictable. But still, hell of a day.
Thanks all, as always for reading if you got this far. Y salud!
🇨🇴❤️✊
/END
I lied! One last photo at the hotel
Jose Ambulla, killed by ESMAD. His portrait posted here in the foreground. Colombian police in the background
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Some people don't seem to realize this a joke. Mostly
Breathe guys
And this guy: "I have taken literally the only cool thing about crypto currency, that it is in theory bottom up instead of top-down and turned it into a Wall Street pyramid scheme please let me help you make this brain rot idea more hedge fund friendly"
I will be trying to make it. I might have to schedule some emergency dental surgery first tho. Outta nowhere I'm suddenly completely laid up w some serious pain
"get a tooth pulled, go the protests after" makes a good story tho
It is absolutely hilarious to me that this guy pushes Grayzone. "We have to work with fascists because the US left is mean" may be one of the funniest (and darkest) arguments I've read in a long time
There is a hell of a lot wrong with the US left. That's undeniable. But "cancel culture made me hype Tucker Carlson and endorse 3rd positionists" is not even close to a rational argument
I really liked his writing growing up. He still got the prose. He lost the thread tho
THREAD: I've been covering big protests movements in Latin America a little over three years, and there are a few things that ALWAYS happen in regards to State claims about what's going on. I'd like to break down a few because it's timely to current Colombian protests:
1) THIS IS FUNDED BY [insert external enemy]!!!
States do not like the idea that movements against them can arise organically or ppl have agency. Even more than just PR (though it's that too) those in power prefer to blame their failings on invisible nefarious outsiders
I saw this in Venezuela (CIA)
Ecuador in 2019 (People couldn't believe indigenous were capable enough to shut down the country, so...Maduro and Correa)
Colombia in 2019 (Also Maduro)
Somehow in each of these events a faraway power convinced 100s of 1000s to take to the streets?