For over a month, Colombia has been in deep turmoil, with anti-government demonstrations in every corner of the main cities in the country. Protesters are demonstrating against the approval of the controversial tax reform introduced by Colombia’s right-wing President Ivan Duque on 28 April.
The government’s proposal was to increase the taxes in the country to respond to the economic crisis exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. However, protesters believe that these plans will have a disproportionate impact on the poorest of society and those already struggling financially due to the pandemic.
The majority of the protesters are students, teachers, and members of Indigenous and rural communities. Brutal crackdowns and clashes with the police are clearly seen as human rights violations and led to international attention and pressure in opposition to the Colombian government’s plans. As a result, the government withdrew the controversial tax bill.
In a video, President Duque said that he would withdraw the “tax proposed by the finance ministry,” and he was willing to discuss plans with the different sectors of the Colombian society in order to build consensual economic reform. Duque pushed for reform as he says it is necessary “to avoid financial uncertainty” and to successfully recover from the pandemic.
Despite Duque’s statements and promise to withdraw the bill, the protests have continued. The protests are now at the end of the third consecutive week, and are not likely to calm down any time soon.
CAUSE OF PROTESTS
The mass mobilisation of protesters was a result of a deep discontent with Duque’s administration, especially regarding his management of the pandemic. Over the past year, Colombia’s gross domestic product (GDP) dropped by 6.8%—the lowest level reached in half a century, and unemployment is on the rise.
According to the World Bank’s estimations, as of April 2021, at least 1.45 million people have fallen into poverty in Colombia, reversing the poverty reduction trend achieved over the past ten years thanks to prudent economic and fiscal manoeuvres.
Moreover, there have been many events that further damaged the president’s image. One example happened when President Duque announced three days of national mourning to commemorate former Defence Minister Carlos Trujillo who died of COVID-19 on 26 January 2020. Opposition parties and civil society organisations strongly criticised the gesture, highlighting how Trujillo had faced calls for his resignation due to human rights violations committed by the security forces, including police brutality and killings of protesters in Bogotá.
Later on, protests arose again in March, when the president declared a state of emergency and removed powers from municipal and regional authorities, impeding them from implementing local measures to fight the pandemic. On this occasion, many protested and called for Duque’s resignation at the sound of banging pots and pans—the “cacerolazo”.
The discontent, together with serious concerns over the health system and the economic instability, led to the perfect environment for new anti-government protests to flourish across the country.
CURRENT PROTEST UPDATES AND STATUS OF DUQUE’S REFORMS
The current demonstrations started because of the introduction of a new tax law suggested by President Duque. The tax law included an increase of the value added tax (VAT) for public transport, for funerary services, and surcharges on gasoline and diesel. Moreover, the plans included lowering the threshold whereby individuals would need to pay income tax—affecting anyone who receives a monthly salary of at least $656.
In response to the controversial reform efforts, which caused outrage among trade unions and the low and middle classes who had already been hit hard by the economic effects of the pandemic, the people decided to declare a national, indefinite strike—a “paro nacional”.
After this, the government responded, announcing a curfew for the entire weekend. The curfew was announced due to the number of COVID-19 cases, and strong militarisation in the country’s main cities was a tactic to repress the protesters. However, this exacerbated the situation and the protests intensified.
THE ESCALATION OF THE PROTESTS
The police present at the protests reportedly used tear gas and shot live ammunition to disperse the protesters, according to some human rights organisations. Social media footage showing the clashes and police violence went viral. The government confirmed that 16 civilians had perished in accidents related to the demonstrations.
Multiple local and international NGOs, including Human Rights Watch, not only confirmed various deaths, but also made an urgent call for the end of violence and for the government to respect citizens’ rights to peacefully protest. It was reported that 19 protesters ultimately died and 87 disappeared.
The demonstrations were particularly massive in the cities of Bogotà and Cali, which have been the epicenters of police violence over the past weeks. Cali especially has witnessed a shortage of basic food items as the protesters had blocked the main roads. Although the disruption has caused significant damage, an agreement was reached to establish humanitarian corridors to distribute food and medicine.
After pressure and four consecutive days of protests, Duque announced the removal of the tax law on 2 May 2021, while the following day the Minister of Finance, Alberto Carrasquilla, resigned. [in Spanish]
Despite this, it is likely that the protests will not fizzle out any time soon and that the consequences of the turmoil will be protracted for longer.
Although the government has agreed to meet protest leaders and the representatives of the main civil society groups, more and more people are joining the demonstrations and their demands are widening.
The people now demand that Duque removes the entire package of reforms proposed, including changes to the healthcare system and pensions; call for the demilitarisation in cities; the end of human rights violations by governmental forces; and the dismantling of the riot police.
The use of excessive force and the actions of riot police are among the issues that most touched and angered the population. Police violence hit the headlines multiple times over the past years: in 2019, for example, thousands marched to protest the death of a teenager shot by riot police, while in September 2020, the death of a man who had been tasered by the police and later died led to violent protests and even more killings in the streets of Bogotá.
On 4 May 2021, both the United Nations and the European Union condemned the use of excessive force by the security forces in Colombia.
Although President Duque has ruled out the possibility of any dismantlement of the riot police and urged to clear the roadblocks still present in major cities, he said that “there will be a space” to hear the people’s demands and reach concrete solutions together.
Annalisa is a Media Studies & Politics BA student at the University of Groningen. Academically, she focuses on how communication shapes discourse on human rights and she is interested in specialising in humanitarian aid and sustainable development, especially in Latin America and Southeast Asia.