The bill proposed by President Duque was advertised by the government as an effort to finance social spending to combat the negative effects of the pandemic, but critics believed the administration to be putting the concerns of foreign creditors over the needs of the poorest Colombians. Almost 25 million Colombians nearly half of the country’s population are living in poverty, according to government numbers.The unemployment rate has almost doubled compared to pre-pandemic figures.
At a roadblock last week, Torres described putting her dreams on hold during the pandemic. She lost a part-time job that paid for her college classes and had to postpone a semester of school. Thousands of Colombians have been forced out of college in the past year, threatening the aspirations of many who see education as the only way out of poverty.
New strike day in Colombia on Wednesday after fruitless talks
May 11, 2021
Social organizations called for a new national strike in Colombia for Wednesday after fruitless talks with President Ivan Duque on Monday.
The meeting between Duque and the National Strike Committee was the first since the first strike organized by the collective of social organizations triggered the largest anti-government organizations in 2019.
Protests have been swelling despite or perhaps because of extraordinary police brutality since the organizations called for a new strike on April 28.
The first conversation between the president and the social organizations was accompanies by representatives of the United Nations and the Catholic Church.
May 10, 2021
President Ivan Duque vowed to send more troops to southwest Colombia after clashes between locals from Cali and indigenous protesters triggered fears of a civil war on Sunday.
At least eight of the protesters and at least one Cali resident were injured south of Colombia’s third largest city in the latest escalation of violence in anti-government protests that kicked off last month.
Duque ignoring escalating crisis ‘out of prudence’
Mayor Jorge Ivan Ospina urged the president to visit Cali to address the “political problem of a national nature” that has manifested itself most violently in Cali, which is also reporting food shortages.
Colombia state terror campaign broadcast live on Twitter
May 10, 2021
Colombia’s President Ivan Duque and the Anti-Communist Brigade death squad tweeted their allegedly joint terror campaign live in the city of Cali.
What the purpose of the military operation allegedly carried out with the paramilitary group was other than terrorizing locals in the south of Colombia’s city is unclear.
How many people were injured and may have been killed was also not immediately clear.
Once Duque was done terrorizing the students of the Valle University, the president said that he would “listen to you and talk about the issues you complain about.”
COLOMBIAN police are indiscriminately using horizontal high-speed multiple-projectile launchers against anti-government protesters, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said today.
Jose Miguel Vivanco, HRW executive director for the Americas, said that his organisation had never previously seen police using the tear-gas and stun-bomb launchers in that way.
Each launcher is mounted on an anti-riot armoured vehicle reported to cost about £84,000 each.
“This seems like a highly dangerous, high-risk procedure, and I believe that this type of practice is what causes the complaints about extreme police brutality,” Mr Vivanco said.
Colombian Defence Minister Diego Molano sought to justify the use of the weapons when disturbances “affect tranquillity and security” or there is a possibility of violence.