BOGOTA/CALI (Reuters) - Anti-government protests in Colombia entered their third week on Wednesday as unions, student groups and other organizations convened a national strike after fruitless talks with the government.
By Luis Jaime Acosta and Oliver Griffin
BOGOTA/CALI, May 12 (Reuters) - Union members, students, pensioners and workers marched in anti-government protests around Colombia on Wednesday, as President Ivan Duque urged citizens to reject violence and stereotypes about demonstrators and police alike.
The sometimes deadly demonstrations were initially fueled in late April by outrage at a now-canceled tax plan. But protesters demands have expanded to include an end to police violence, economic support as the COVID-19 pandemic batters incomes, and the withdrawal of a health reform.
Duque has offered dialogue, but many protesters have voiced skepticism government promises will lead to change and talks with union and student leaders have so far proved fruitless.
Colombians take to the streets to kick off third week of anti-government protests
Reuters | May 12, 2021 03:37 PM EDT
Demonstrators play drums during a protest demanding government action to tackle poverty, police violence and inequalities in healthcare and education systems, in Bogota (Photo : REUTERS/Nathalia Angarita NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES)
Union members, students, pensioners and workers took to the streets of Colombia to march in anti-government protests on Wednesday, as demonstrations entered their third week amid so-far fruitless talks.
The demonstrations, which have sometimes turned violent, were initially fueled in late April by outrage at a now-canceled tax plan. But protesters demands have expanded to include an end to police violence, economic support as the COVID-19 pandemic batters incomes, and the withdrawal of a health reform.
Colombian lawmakers introduce a plan calling for the government to take control of the cocaine market, buying harvests and regulating sales.
The protests’ initial impetus was a government tax-increase plan that opponents said would disproportionately hurt low-income Colombians, already reeling in a pandemic-battered economy that has plunged multitudes into poverty. Duque, who had said the tax hike was needed to stabilize national finances, scrapped the proposal just a few days after the unrest on the streets began April 28 and accepted the resignation of his finance minister.
But the demonstrations quickly morphed into broader calls for improved healthcare, education, security and other demands. Colombia saw similar protests in 2019-20, but those lost momentum when the pandemic hit. This time, marches are pressing ahead despite a third coronavirus wave in a nation with one of the world’s highest per capita COVID-19 death rates.