the keys to understanding why the protests were generated

The workers’ centers and social movements have decided to call for a general strike against the reform planned for last Wednesday. It was the first day of the mobilizations, which pushed thousands of people to take to the streets. Bogotá, Cali, Medellín, Barranquilla, Bucaramanga and Manizales are cities where massive protests have taken place.

The mobilizations continued for the next two days and it seemed that they would gradually fade and Colombia would return to its routine. This does not happen. On Saturday, coinciding with May 1, Labor Day, they were massive again. During the day they passed normally but by nightfall, at six in the afternoon, they escalated with clashes between the police and the demonstrators who so far they have left 21 dead.

After several days of protests, Iván Duque announced last Sunday the withdrawal of the tax reform bill. “I ask the Congress of the Republic to withdraw the project submitted by the Ministry of Finance and urgently deal with a new project following a consensus and thus avoid financial uncertainty “Duque said in a statement to the Casa de Nariño, seat of government.

Duque explained that he has held talks with different political parties, production unions and other sectors of the population and that the new tax reform bill that will be presented to Congress will include the proposals resulting from these dialogues.

A day later, the Ministry of Finance, Alberto Carrasquilla announced his resignation, who was one of the promoters of tax reform.

What was this reform about?

The project which bears the name of “Sustainable Solidarity Law”, seeks to raise approximately 25 billion pesos (approximately $ 6,850 million).

Controversial, even before being presented, the project proposes a series of reforms of the tax statute to broaden the taxpayer base, that is to say that it would reduce the minimum amount from which citizens must file their taxes with the authorities.

The most controversial point of the initiative proposes that from 2022, Those who earn more than 2.4 million pesos per month (about $ 663) must file income tax, a measure rejected by unions in a country where the minimum wage is equivalent to $ 248.

By 2023, the base is expected to be extended to those receiving a figure above 1.7 million pesos per month (about $ 470).

The bill contemplates the collection of VAT, which is 19%, on the prices of public energy, water and sanitation and gas services, for users of social layers 4, 5 and 6, the highest on the scale.

Other measures under consideration aim to tackle climate change: increase surcharges on gasoline and diesel, modify the tax levied for the use of fossil fuels and create a national tax on single-use plastic products used for wrapping, wrapping or wrapping of goods.

Why is the protest continuing?

The withdrawal of the tax reform did not convince the thousands of citizens who returned to the streets of the main cities of the country on Sunday. People continue to mobilize because they are tired, they have accumulated the fatigue of the last governments of the country.

As soon as Duque called for the withdrawal of the reform Posts calling for more protests have gone viral on social media under the phrase “the strike continues”, in reference to the original name of this movement: the national strike.

So what are the original claims of this unprecedented movement which seems to have come to last?

If one of the main criticisms of the strike is that its list of demands exceeds 100 demands, three general lines cross the political cause of a heterogeneous and difficult to define movement.

1. A more egalitarian economy

No matter how hard Duque tries to highlight the social value of his reform, his economic initiatives have one perhaps irremediable problem: mistrust.

Colombian economy is rooted in political patronage which for years exempted from taxes and open competition the big oligopolies of bananas, sugar and mines, among others.

Thus, a change from this unequal and exclusive model – which for many would require greater democratization of health and education – is at the heart of this protest movement.

2. Police reform

The protesters’ mistrust of the government goes beyond the economic sphere: it also manifests itself vis-à-vis the public force, a key institution in a country with 60 years of armed conflict behind it.

During these four days of demonstrations, the NGO Temblores documented 940 cases of police violence and an investigation into the deaths of 21 demonstrators who were allegedly assaulted by police officers.

Unlike most countries, the Colombian police are part of the Ministry of Defense and are structured – their training, language and objectives – for a context of armed conflict against a specific enemy: the Marxist guerrillas.

Duque made a gesture in this regard two weeks ago: he created a military justice system “with financial, administrative and operational independence” that is not under the command of the Ministry of Defense.

3. Better implementation of the peace process

The search for a different economic and police model is linked to the idea of ​​a new country.

The generation leading the street protests grew up in a country at war, under the polarizing mantras of the Cold War; And today, his greatest desire is for politics to overcome these traumas of the conflict and allow, even through peaceful protests, to talk about issues such as education, social rights and drug legalization, among others banned in the debate in Colombia for decades.

For this, a first gesture that the demonstrators expect from the government is to implement the peace agreement that the government of Juan Manuel Santos signed with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia in 2016.

Duque defends his peace policy, which has as its main commitment the productive development of the regions most affected by the conflict.

However, his detractors point out that the poor implementation of the agreement has generated the increase in massacres, assassinations of social leaders and massive displacement people living in remote areas of the country.

Police violence

Amid the protests, the police came out to crack down on citizens: which generated 21 deaths, hundreds of injuries and more than 900 complaints of police abuse. Citizens have gone viral in the videos in which police abuse is clearly visible.

However, the Defense Ministry barely recognized a dead civilian, 209 police officers injured and one deceased, and 203 arrests. Portfolio holder Diego Molano appealed to a typical government argument by claiming that there was unrest orchestrated by “criminal organizations”, including dissidents who did not adhere to the peace accord. signed with the former FARC guerrilla in 2016.

Faced with government denial and silence, Colombians have returned to social media to seek urgent help from international human rights organizations to call on President Duqe to intercede and stop the violence.

Yesterday the United Nations (UN), rejected the “excessive use of force” against the demonstrators. The spokesperson for the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Marta Hurtado, sent a wake-up call from Geneva, Switzerland, in which he called for calm for the next demonstrations to be held this Wednesday, May 5 in Colombia.

“We are deeply alarmed by the events in the city of Cali in Colombia last night, when police opened fire on demonstrators protesting against tax reform, killing and injuring several people, according to information received,” said Hurtado.

In another section of his statement, the senior official assured that the UN is working to give an accurate number of victims in the country. “Our office in Colombia is working to verify the exact number of victims and establish the circumstances of these terrible incidents in Cali”Hurtado reported, who also denounced that “Human rights defenders have also reported being harassed and threatened”.

Regarding the Colombian police force, the UN spokesperson said that members of the organization to which she belongs “They witnessed the excessive use of force by the police”. So, once again, he advised the citizens.

“In view of the extremely tense situation, with soldiers and police deployed to monitor the demonstration, we call for calm.”Hurtado said and urged the Colombian government to promote the human rights of its citizens.

Meanwhile, the president remains silent and in the streets, citizens continue to die leaving their homes to demand a more just and egalitarian country.