Colombia entered its second week of demonstrations against the right-wing government of President Iván Duque on Wednesday 5 May, which denounced
"violent vandalism"
and proposed a dialogue, which should not begin for several days, however.
Read also: Colombia: new day of mobilization against the government
Several thousand people, trade unionists, students, indigenous people and other sectors, took to the streets of several large cities to demand an improvement in health, education and security policies and to denounce the abuses of the police. . The violence has left at least 24 dead and some 850 injured, according to official sources. But local NGOs announced higher figures, including Temblores with 37 dead. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) deplored 76 attacks on journalists, ten of whom were injured by the police.
President Duque denounced Wednesday
"acts of violent vandalism, urban terrorism"
, the Minister of the Interior, Daniel Palacios, launching
"a call for non-violence"
. In Bogotá, clashes pitted protesters against police who dispersed them with tear gas as they attempted to enter parliament, adjacent to the presidential seat. After dark, the situation was still tense in the heart of the capital. Thousands of people gathered there, carrying slogans such as
"Duque resigns"
. Groups also went to protest near the president's home in the north.
"The police are attacking us (...) We are not vandals"
, Nathalie, 36, told AFP, among a group dressed in mourning, preferring not to give her name.
Read also: Colombia: resignation of the Minister of Finance
Traces of violence remained visible in the city: burnt police stations, vandalized bus stations and bank branches, burnt tire residues, after serious clashes the night before which left 46 injured, including 16 officers.
"It hurts to see that, but what hurts us even more is the negligence of this deaf government, which prefers to resort to the public force (...) rather than to help"
people, deplored Hector Cuinemi, 19 years old, student.
During the day, the situation was calmer in Cali (southwest), where in particular some 3,000 natives proclaimed
"Resistance"
. But access to the city remained blocked as fuel shortages were felt. The demonstration also took place quietly in Medellín (north-west), where around 8,000 people marched against the backdrop of slogans against the hard-right ex-president Álvaro Uribe (2000-2010), mentor of Iván Duque.
The mobilization has been going on since April 28, initially against a tax reform project which, according to its critics, would have affected the middle class and was inappropriate in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The president withdrew it, promising a new text without the contested points like the VAT hike and the broadening of the income tax base.
But the protest continued under new slogans.
Read also: Protests in Colombia: the army deployed in Cali following unrest
The International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) tweeted on Wednesday against
"the serious violations perpetrated by the police"
, urging the EU
"to immediately suspend (...) all types of arms deliveries"
and
"military aid" "
Colombia, asking the
" international sanctions against President Iván Duque "
. The United Nations, the European Union, the United States and others had denounced the disproportionate use of force by the police the day before.
Tension increased on Monday in Cali where hundreds of soldiers and police were deployed.
The government argued that dissidents from the Farc, who rejected the peace agreement signed in 2016 by the ex-guerrillas, as well as the National Liberation Army (ELN), the country's latest rebellion, and narco gangs - traffickers orchestrated the troubles there.
Iván Duque denounced Wednesday
"a criminal organization, which hides behind legitimate social aspirations to destabilize society, generate terror"
.
While providing support to the police, he announced
"spaces for dialogue"
, or 11 meetings scheduled from next week.
Read also: Colombia: tens of thousands of demonstrators against tax reform
The president of the Unitary Confederation of Workers (CUT), the main trade union federation, deemed it
"necessary to discuss the demilitarization of social protest"
, in addition to the demands of the demonstrators. The head of state, whose popularity is at half mast at 33%, has been faced with multiple protests since 2019, in a country in recession and affected by an upsurge in the armed conflict that has undermined it for nearly sixty years.
Latin America's fourth-largest economy is suffering from a drop in gross domestic product (GDP) of 6.8% in 2020, unemployment of 16.8% and poverty at 42.5% while nearly half of the working population lives on informal jobs. Colombia is also facing a third wave of Covid-19 with to date more than 2.9 million cases, including 76,015 deaths, out of 50 million inhabitants.