At least 19 dead and 846 injured in six days of m …

The Colombian Ombudsman’s office raised the death toll to 19 during protests against the tax reform that was ultimately withdrawn by President Iván Duque. The Ministry of Defense in turn recorded 846 wounded. Police arrested 431 people and the government ordered the deployment of military personnel to the most mobilized towns. Both the opposition and human rights organizations accuse the police of shooting directly at civilians. Although with less influx, protesters returned on Monday to demonstrate in the streets of Bogotá, Medellín, Cali and Barranquilla, and unions called for a new strike next Wednesday. After the failure of the tax reform of which he was one of the main architects, Finance Minister Alberto Carrasquilla has tendered his resignation.

“According to the archives, to date there have been 19 deaths in the Valle del Cauca, Bogotá, Neiva, Cali, Soacha, Yumbo, Ibagué, Madrid, Medellín and Pereira”informed the Colombian mediator’s office in a statement. “The Ombudsman’s Office, as representative of citizens’ rights, calls for the construction of spaces for dialogue between the government and the various social groups, in order to seek reconciliation and reach points of agreement that solve the current national problem, ”added the institution.

Under pressure from the protests, Duque ordered on Sunday to withdraw the tax reform proposal debated in Congress, where a large sector rejected it, pointing out that it punished the middle class and was premature amid the crisis triggered by the coronavirus pandemic. The president proposed to draft a new draft which removes the main points of contention: the increase in VAT on services and goods and the broadening of the tax base with income tax.

This initiative only rekindled unrest against the government. Since 2019, the so-called National Unemployment Committee, which brings together various union and social organizations, has called for mobilization to ask the president for a change of course. “People on the street are demanding more than the withdrawal of tax reform,” the leaders said in a bulletin on Monday.

Protests against the economic policies of the government led by Duque will continue, now focused on opposition to healthcare reform. To this end, a new national strike has been called next Wednesday. “We regard the announcement of the withdrawal of the tax reform project as a triumph of the millions of Colombians who have mobilized and of the majority support that the citizens have given to the national strike,” said the president of the Central Unitaria de Trabajadores in a news. conference. (CUT), Francisco Maltese.

“However, this announcement does not deactivate the mobilization. People on the streets demand much more than the withdrawal of tax reform“Maltés added while reading the statement of the National Unemployment Committee. Among the objectives of the new day of struggle is a negotiation of the unions with the government for the Withdrawal of “Bill 010 on health and the strengthening of mass vaccination” against covid-19. They are also calling for a basic income of at least a minimum monthly wage (around $ 240), defense of domestic production and subsidies to SMEs, among other measures.

Although the days of protest are mostly peaceful, the fierce crackdown by the police and their dreaded Mobile Anti-Riot Squad (Esmad) is still present. With the reinforcement of thousands of soldiers deployed in the streets, the alarms continue to sound. The NGO Temblores has recorded 1,181 cases of police violence in recent days and warned that it was not until Sunday that “the police deliberately murdered at least five people”.. In addition warned that from April 28 to date, 26 people had been murdered and documented nine complaints of sexual violence for which members of the security forces are singled out.

Police have filed numerous complaints about the brutality and arbitrariness with which some officers have acted so fareven with point-blank shots. One such case is that of young Santiago Murillo, executed in the Colombian town of Ibagué during the massive protests.

“He was going home, he only had two blocks left,” said the young man’s mother, adding that although he receives threats for defending Santiago’s image, he will not allow the police to “wipe their hands with his death”. In the town of Cali, another young man, Nicolás Guerrero, was shot to the head in the early hours of Monday. The 22-year-old artist’s death was seen live by thousands of people who followed a live broadcast on social media.

While this Monday another eventful night was expected in the streets of Colombia, the tax reform was blamed on the first official of the Duque government. After meeting the president at the Nariño Palace, Alberto Carrasquilla resigned from the Ministry of Finance. The civil servant’s situation became untenable because the reform project was the main flag of Carrasquilla.

“My continuity in government would make it difficult to quickly and efficiently build the consensus needed” to carry out a new reform proposal, the now former official said in a statement. Carrasquilla, who was also finance minister for three years under Álvaro Uribe’s government (2002-2010), told Duque that the withdrawal of the tax reform project “is an opportunity to initiate and provide a calm dialogue and constructive leading to consensus that the country urgently needs. “

Outrage against the former minister rose in mid-April in an interview with the magazine Week on the impact of tax reform on the pocket of Colombians has shown that didn’t know what the cost of a dozen eggs, a staple in the family basket. “It depends on the quality, but let’s say 1800 pesos (about 47 cents) a dozen or something like that is what I have in mind,” he said, as the price exceeds 4,500 pesos (about $ 1.20), which makes him a source of ridicule in all protests.