The other reasons for the protests in Colombia and what is coming for the country

Petro says tax reform was "bad practice" 2:16

(CNN) -

More than a week of violent protests in Colombia have killed at least 26 people and injured hundreds, prompting statements of concern from the United States government and the European Union.

Fueled by frustration over the crushing economic pain of COVID-19 and exacerbated by a heavy-handed police response, the upheaval has reached 247 cities and towns, according to Colombia's Interior Minister Daniel Palacios.

Beyond the protests for the tax reform, these are other reasons why the demonstrations have not stopped.

This is what you should know.

• Unidentified people shoot protesters in a Colombian city

They denounce that police attack civilian clothes 1:59

What started the latest protests in Colombia?

Colombians took to the streets for the first time on April 28 to protest a controversial tax reform introduced by President Iván Duque.

“The reform is not a whim.

It is a necessity for social programs to continue working, "he said.

advertising

CNN previously reported that Colombia needs to increase income through taxes in order to spend and even maintain vital social programs such as cash support for the unemployed and lines of credit for businesses struggling through the pandemic.

But critics argued that tax increases, such as a proposed value-added tax (VAT) increase on everyday goods, would disproportionately affect the working and middle classes and increase inequality in the pandemic-hit economy. .

Unemployment in Colombia is currently 16%.

It was 9% before the pandemic started, according to Colombia's National Statistics Department, DANE.

• The mayor of Bogotá calls for a 'new economic agreement' in Colombia

1 of 23

|

Thousands of citizens have taken to the streets of Colombia to protest against the tax reform proposed by the government of Iván Duque.

Look in this gallery for some of the most shocking images left by the protests (Credit: LUIS ROBAYO / AFP via Getty Images)

2 of 23

|

Despite being at a coronavirus peak, the premise, for many on the streets, is that the government is more dangerous than the virus itself.

(Credit: Guillermo Legaria / Getty Images)

3 of 23

|

President Iván Duque ordered the withdrawal of the tax proposal after days of protests, most of which were peaceful.

(Credit: Presidency of the Republic)

4 of 23

|

The reform asked, among others, to put taxes on basic products of the family basket, to put VAT on funeral services and internet services.

(Credit: Guillermo Legaria / Getty Images)

5 of 23

|

The Minister of Finance.

Alberto Carrasquilla, resigned from his position after the protests.

(Credit: MANDEL NGAN / AFP via Getty Images)

6 of 23

|

According to official figures, 19 deaths have been registered in a week of protests, but the NGO Temblores reports many more deaths in the framework of the April and May 2021 demonstrations. In this photo, a group of people pay tribute to Nicolás Guerrero, a young man who was allegedly killed by Esmad during a protest in Cali on May 2.

(Credit: LUIS ROBAYO / AFP via Getty Images)

7 of 23

|

The NGO Temblores has denounced deaths, cases of police violence, hundreds of arbitrary arrests, sexual violence at the hands of the police, and disappearances in the context of the current demonstrations.

In this photo a protester in Bogotá on May 4, 2021. (Credit: JUAN BARRETO / AFP via Getty Images)

8 of 23

|

Authorities say there are at least 140 complaints of excessive use of force by police in the current demonstrations.

(Credit: JOAQUIN SARMIENTO / AFP via Getty Images)

9 of 23

|

The mayor of Bogotá denounced a "tragic and painful" night on the night of May 4.

That day there were 30 civilians and 13 police officers injured, according to Claudia López.

(Credit: Diego Cuevas / Vizzor Image / Getty Images)

10 of 23

|

On the night of May 4, at least 25 police stations in Bogotá were affected, 19 of these vandalized and 3 police stations were totally destroyed.

(Credit: JUAN BARRETO / AFP via Getty Images)

11 of 23

|

A group of people clean a burned-out police station on the night of May 4 in Cali, in southwestern Colombia, as part of the anti-government demonstrations.

(Credit: LUIS ROBAYO / AFP via Getty Images)

12 of 23

|

The mayor denounced that violent protesters tried to burn alive 15 police officers who were in a police station in the Aurora sector, in the south of Bogotá.

(Credit: Bogotá Government Secretariat)

13 of 23

|

Public service buses were incinerated in cities like Cali and Bogotá.

In this photo a bus on fire at the protests in Cali, Colombia, on April 28, 2021. (Credit: PAOLA MAFLA / AFP via Getty Images)

14 of 23

|

Although the protests have been mostly peaceful, they left images of chaos like this in various cities around the country.

(Credit: JOAQUIN SARMIENTO / AFP via Getty Images)

15 of 23

|

The national government deployed the Army in cities "where there is a high risk to the integrity of citizens," that is, where the disturbances are more violent. Here, army tanks in Bogotá on May 4, 2021. (Credit: DANIEL MUNOZ / AFP via Getty Images)

16 of 23

|

An army soldier on a street in Cali, on April 30, 2021, when the government ordered the deployment of the public force in the cities with the most violent disturbances in the protests.

(Credit: LUIS ROBAYO / AFP via Getty Images)

17 of 23

|

This is how a hotel in Cali was left after violent riots between protesters and Esmad in the protests on the night of May 4.

(Credit: LUIS ROBAYO / AFP via Getty Images)

18 of 23

|

Masked protesters in Cali shout harangues against the government in the Puerto Resistencia sector on May 5, 2021. (Credit: Gabriel Aponte / Getty Images)

19 of 23

|

Mass demonstrations continue in Colombia.

This May 5 photo shows thousands of people in Medellín rallying against the Duque government.

(Credit: JOAQUIN SARMIENTO / AFP via Getty Images)

20 of 23

|

With music, young people go out to protest on May 5 in Bogotá.

(Credit: JOAQUIN SARMIENTO / AFP via Getty Images)

21 of 23

|

Protests in Bogotá on May 5, 2021. (Credit: Nathaly Triana / CNN)

22 of 23

|

The protests in Colombia on May 5 also call for respect for the right to health.

(Credit: Nathaly Triana / CNN)

23 of 23

|

Protesters march with a banner that reads "Health reform leaves us in Intensive Care".

(Credit: Nathaly Triana / CNN)

Why are the protests continuing?

Duque reported that he withdrew the tax reform, but popular anger has only continued to grow, fueled at least in part by the government's fierce response to the protests.

Videos of Esmad riot police using tear gas and batons against protesters have gone viral on social media, spreading beyond big cities and across the country.

Far from stopping the protests, the alleged police brutality has become a focal point for the protesters, who are now calling for an independent international investigation into the deaths.

Human rights non-governmental organizations say the actual death toll could be much higher and have called on the president to prohibit the police from using excessive force.

Multilateral organizations, foreign ambassadors and even the Colombian singer Shakira have issued statements of concern about the response of the forces of order.

On Tuesday, the US State Department publicly called for "the utmost restraint on the part of public forces to avoid further loss of life."

Tensions, however, only seem to be on the rise.

On Wednesday, Major General Oscar Antonio Gómez Heredia, Bogotá's police chief, told reporters that a total of 25 police stations had been attacked by protesters.

Gasoline begins to run low in Cali 2:50

What has the government said about the violence?

Interior Minister Palacios told CNN that arrest warrants have been issued for some police officers for the deaths of protesters.

According to him, more than 580 officers have been injured.

When asked by CNN in a press conference on Thursday if he would be open to an independent international investigation into the police actions, Palacios said: “We in Colombia have a very independent counterbalance system and these institutions work.

They are not under siege, and as a result, there have already been three arrest warrants for three policemen involved in the deaths of three protesters.

Our system works under the rule of law.

The interior minister told reporters that there have been 25 deaths in protests.

Eleven police officers involved are already being investigated.

“We do not tolerate the excessive use of force;

we do not accept any abuse of the rule of law, "he added.

President Duque has blamed much of the violence on the "drug mafias" that take advantage of the chaos.

"The threat of vandalism that we face consists of a criminal organization that hides behind legitimate social aspirations to destabilize society, generate terror and distract the actions of the public forces," he said on Wednesday.

Duque: The attacks on the police hurt us 0:35

What's next for Colombia?

The mayor of Bogotá, Claudia López, said Thursday that the government must recognize and address Colombia's deep economic inequality, and that now "is not the time" to collect taxes from the poor and the middle class.

“What young people want is inclusion.

Right now they have high levels of poverty, high levels of unemployment.

This is an extreme, unequal society.

And they they want to be heard.

They want to be heard at the table with the president.

Not only with political parties or other social forces, but with young people themselves, they want to be empowered and heard, ”he told CNN's Christiane Amanpour on Thursday.

«The president listened to the nation and listened to the voice of the social protesters, in the sense that they recognized, the national government recognized that their tax reform proposal was not viable ... but now, there is a political agreement that is required because we still have poverty, ”López said.

• They warn that the dissipated molecular revolution would be "a conspiracy theory" with which Uribe "tries to shake his bases"

Duque has called for a "national dialogue" in which the government will listen to the concerns of the people, including social leaders and political parties, with a tentative date of May 10.

"I want to announce that we will establish a place to listen to citizens and build solutions oriented to these ends, in which differences of ideologies should not prevail, but rather our deepest patriotism," he said Tuesday.

But the proposal has not pacified the protesters, who are expected to continue in several cities until next week.

CNN's Tatiana Arias in Atlanta and Natalie Gallon in Mexico City contributed to this report.

Protests in Colombia