Tax reform sparks huge demonstrations in Colombia
Organisers of the citizens' mobilisations called for a day of protests on Thursday 29 April to express their rejection of the national government's new measure, a tax reform, which includes a tax increase. The Colombian Federation of Education Workers (FECODE), together with the three central workers' organisations, once again organised citizens in the country's main cities, who marched to the presidential palace in Bogota and wanted to repeat the same formula for today. "We call for tomorrow (Thursday) in a massive, peaceful manner and with biosecurity measures, to continue this day of strike," said the National Strike Committee. In the communiqué they notified the protesters that they should concentrate at the same points for the day of protests on 29 April, and called for another national strike on 19 May.
In several protests in the country there was a climate of vandalism, vandalising public property. In the communiqué issued by the organisers, they rejected the use of violence: "We regret and condemn the isolated events of vandalism that occurred in two or three cities and, in particular, the strange looting that occurred in the city of Cali, in which the protesters were not involved". Authorities in Cali were able to confirm the death of one person, where protests turned from peaceful to violent in a matter of minutes. The mayor of Cali, Jorge Iván Ospina, said of the events: "The death occurred in unspecified events linked to the demonstration", according to EFE news agency. Cali made national and international headlines with images of burnt public transport buses, images of looting, and the destruction of banks, offices, and commercial premises. The statue of Sebastián de Belalcázar, who was the founder of the city during Spanish colonisation, was toppled by indigenous protesters. The city authorities deployed all state security forces, including the army; in order to control the riots, a curfew was decreed from 1 p.m. until next Sunday morning.
Colombia is in a complicated situation due to the increase in the number of cases of the coronavirus. In the demonstrations, demonstrators can be observed not respecting the security distances and in some cases people without masks. The local judiciary issued a ruling ordering the protests to be postponed to avoid an increase in the number of positive cases of COVID-19. In Bogotá, the mayor, Claudia López, also asked to postpone the day of protests. Colombia has accumulated 2.8 million positive cases and more than 72,000 deaths, but unions and organisers insist on maintaining the national strike, "This protest is legitimate to the extent that it interprets the national clamour of a rejection of the economic and social policies of this government, which in the midst of these difficult circumstances seeks a tax reform to plunder the pockets of Colombians, while the very rich are not touched a single hair", commented the president of the Central Unitaria de Trabajadores, Francisco Maltés, to Reuters.
Defence Minister Diego Molano Aponte commented on his Twitter account that "today we should be united in our rejection of all acts of vandalism, such as those registered in Cali. We have sent 850 police officers and 450 soldiers from the Colombian Army to guarantee security. Our security forces will remain on guard during the night and in the following days". The security forces were mobilised in all the cities of the country where protests were called. In the city of Neiva another person also died, his death was not caused by the protests, according to the doctors who carried out the autopsy, as he did not have any physical injuries, perforations or wounds from firearms, the doctors announced that the citizen died from an epileptic seizure.
Latin America Coordinator: José Antonio Sierra.
