Pandemic Gloom and Police Violence Leave Colombia in Turmoil
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What is behind the protests that have swept across Colombia over the last week?
Colombia entered 2021 with some foreboding. The warning signs of deep public discontent had become clear over the past two years. The government intent on plugging fiscal gaps that were worrying investors and on mounting a pandemic response did not take sufficient heed of rising resentment of the country s gaping inequality, police violence and insecurity. When in April President Iván Duque presented a tax reform that would have increased the burden on already squeezed middle-class families, demonstrators took to the streets to vent their grievances. The government ombudsman reported on 5 May that at least 24 people have died in the protests to date, and a day earlier civil society groups put the number as high as 31. Nearly 90 people were reported missing on 4 May, though the government affirms 47 have since been found.
What is behind the protests that have swept across Colombia over the last week? Colombia entered 2021 with some foreboding. The warning signs of deep public discontent had become clear over the past two years. The government – intent on plugging fiscal gaps that were worrying investors and on mounting a pandemic response – did not take sufficient heed of rising resentment of the country’s gaping inequality, police violence and insecurity. When in April President Iván Duque presented a tax reform that would have increased the burden on already squeezed middle-class families, demonstrators took to the streets to vent their grievances. The government ombudsman reported on 5 May that at least 24 people have died in the protests to date, and a day earlier civil society groups put the number as high as 31. Nearly 90 people were reported missing on 4 May, though the government affirms 47 have since been found.
Global calls for calm as Colombia deploys excessive force
BOGOTA - The international community on Tuesday decried what the UN described as an excessive use of force by security officers in Colombia after numerous deaths during days of anti-government protests. The United Nations, United States, European Union and rights bodies joined a chorus of criticism after official data showed 19 people were killed and 846 injured in running clashes with the security forces. Colombia s human rights ombudsman a state agency independent from the government said 89 people were listed as disappeared.
Tens of thousands of Colombians have taken to the streets in demonstrations that began last Wednesday against a proposed tax reform but have since morphed into broader protest against the government of President Ivan Duque.
Night of chaos in Bogota as protesters set police station afire 2 minutes read
Bogota, May 5 (EFE).- Protesters have torched a police station and destroyed more than a dozen security posts in escalated violence, officials said, as demonstrations over a proposed tax overhaul rocked the Colombian capital.
The demonstrations turned ugly on Tuesday after a mob set fire to a police station in Bogota with around 10-15 officers inside.
The officers managed to escape even as at least 15 other police posts were destroyed, Bogota Mayor Claudia Lopez said.
“The escalation in violence is brutal,” the mayor tweeted.
Lopes alleged that the crowd tried to burn the 15 officers in southern Bogota.
J Balvin calls for end to civil war in Colombia
A still frame provided by SCV JB Concert Doc Project showing Colombian singer J Balvin appears during a scene from the documentary The Boy from Medellín issued May. 4. 2021 in Miami, US. EFE/Scv Jb Concert Doc Project EDITORIAL USE ONLY AVAILABLE TO ILLUSTRATE THE ACCOMPANYING NEWS (MANDATORY CREDIT)
A still frame provided by SCV JB Concert Doc Project showing Colombian singer J Balvin appears during a scene from the documentary The Boy from Medellín issued May. 4. 2021 in Miami, US. EFE/Scv Jb Concert Doc Project EDITORIAL USE ONLY AVAILABLE TO ILLUSTRATE THE ACCOMPANYING NEWS (MANDATORY CREDIT)