Colombia: Chronology of the protests against the government of Iván Duque

Why are there mobilizations in Colombia?

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(CNN Spanish) -

The protests against the government of Iván Duque in Colombia have lasted for almost two weeks, which were initially called to reject the tax reform presented by the national government in the midst of a pandemic.

After several days of mostly peaceful protests, the protesters do not leave the streets in several cities of the country despite a third wave of infections in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic.

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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)

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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)

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

(Credit: Presidency of the Republic)

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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)

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The Minister of Finance.

Alberto Carrasquilla, resigned from his position after the protests.

(Credit: MANDEL NGAN / AFP via Getty Images)

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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)

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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)

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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)

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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)

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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)

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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)

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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)

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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)

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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)

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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)

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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)

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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)

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

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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)

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

(Credit: JOAQUIN SARMIENTO / AFP via Getty Images)

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

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

(Credit: Nathaly Triana / CNN)

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

(Credit: Nathaly Triana / CNN)

April 28

A controversial tax reform that the government of President Iván Duque established on April 15 unleashed massive protests in several cities of the country.

The economic reform proposed, among other things, to tax basic products of the family basket, increase the cost of gasoline, expand the taxable base of income tax, impose a solidarity tax for high salaries, put a tax on wealth for two years , VAT for funeral services and internet services, among others.

According to the arguments of the then Minister of Finance, Alberto Carrasquilla, the fiscal initiative sought to obtain resources for the equivalent of US $ 6,000 million annually to be able to continue with the social programs of assistance to the poorest and those who have lost everything due to the pandemic of covid-19.

April 30

On the third day of the demonstrations against the tax reform, the official figure was at least one person killed in the protests and dozens of police officers and protesters injured.

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The NGO Temblores reported more than 100 injured by the actions of the National Police, at least 4 dead in the protests and hundreds of "arbitrary" arrests.

That Friday, Duque ordered the Ministry of Finance to draft, together with Congress, a new tax reform text.

But do not withdraw the reform.

In Cali, where the public order situation was complicated at the time, the government deployed at least 4,000 soldiers and police officers to guard the city for the Labor Day demonstrations.

Colombian student leader demands to demilitarize cities 1:10

May 2

The protests did not stop and President Duque ordered the withdrawal of the tax reform.

However, Duque assured that the tax reform was still necessary to clean up the State's finances and continue with social programs.

Therefore, it is proposed to achieve a consensus around a new project.

According to the Ombudsman, at that time there were six deaths - five civilians and one policeman - in the midst of protests for the tax reform, as well as 179 civilians and 216 police officers injured.

May 3

Finance Minister Alberto Carrasquilla resigned after President Duque announced the withdrawal of the controversial tax reform bill.

According to the official note, Carrasquilla announced his decision after "a cordial meeting" with Duque.

For the government, according to the text, "quickly reaching a democratic consensus around a reform of the Colombian tax system is an imperative."

"My continuity in government would make it difficult to quickly and efficiently build the necessary consensus," said the now former minister, according to the statement.

On Twitter, Duque said he accepted the resignation of Alberto Carrasquilla and appointed José Manuel Restrepo, current Minister of Commerce, Industry and Tourism, as the new head of the Treasury.

Duque withdraws tax reform bill and asks for another 3:42

May 4

The spokeswoman for the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in Colombia said members of her commission have been threatened and attacked in Cali, Colombia, while investigating protests over a tax reform bill.

In a statement on her verified Twitter account, Commissioner Juliette de Rivero on Tuesday accused local police of shooting at members of the UN Human Rights Commission in Colombia, but said no one had been injured.

Hours earlier, Rivero had written on Twitter that she was concerned about the information UN Human Rights Colombia was receiving about an unconfirmed number of deaths in the Siloé area of ​​the city of Cali.

May 5

The demonstrations, which in several places turned violent at night, have already left at least 24 dead throughout the country, according to the Ombudsman's Office.

The NGO Temblores reported at least 31 deaths of protesters at the hands of the police, more than 1,400 cases of police violence, 814 arbitrary arrests, 10 cases of sexual violence by the public force.

In the early morning of May 5, the Bogotá Mayor's Office reported that violent men tried to burn several policemen alive at a station in the south of Bogotá.

Mayor Claudia López said that night the city suffered a night of horror, a "tragic and painful" night.

That night 30 civilians and 13 policemen were injured amid the early morning protests.

At least 25 police stations in Bogotá, known as CAI, were affected, 19 vandalized and 3 more police stations were "completely destroyed," according to the Mayor's Office.

Police officers were shot and wounded with knives were reported.

Cases of alleged police brutality are reported.

Videos of Esmad riot police using tear gas and batons against protesters have gone viral on social media, spreading beyond large 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.

Duque says that he will initiate dialogues with various sectors.

May 6

Duque met with representatives of the High Courts of the country where "support for the institutionality, dialogue and social programs to address the pandemic, as well as the condemnation of violence, terrorism and de facto means was ratified," according to a statement by the magistrate. Antonio José Lizarazo, president of the Constitutional Court.

In the joint declaration with the High Courts, in the spirit of separation of powers and harmonious collaboration, the support for the institutional framework, dialogue and social programs to address pandemics was ratified, as well as the condemnation of violence, terrorism and de facto means.

pic.twitter.com/AXzyor9RWz

- Iván Duque 🇨🇴 (@IvanDuque) May 6, 2021

That same day, President Duque rejected the acts of violence in Pereira, where unknown armed men made an attempt on the lives of peaceful protesters on the Viaduct of that city.

One of the injured was Lucas Villa, a student leader who was seriously injured after unknown individuals fired eight times.

The authorities offered a reward of up to 100 million Colombian pesos (about US $ 26,600) for information that gives the whereabouts of the attackers.

Who attempted against the life of Lucas Villa?

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May 7

Members of the Coalition of Hope - made up of several government opposition leaders - met with President Duque for "solutions and consensus for the well-being of Colombians, and guarantee the care of the most vulnerable."

Until that moment, the Coordination Table in the framework of the protests in Colombia reported 27 homicides in the framework of demonstrations, 11 directly linked to the fact, 7 in verification and 9 not related to protests.

In addition, they reported 548 presumed disappeared, 189 people located and 359 in the process of verification and location.

The information is joint between the Attorney General's Office and the Office of the Ombudsman.

And the NGO Temblores, which has kept the registry of complaints of human rights violations in the demonstrations, has reported 37 deaths of protesters by the police as of May 6.

May 9

The Cauca Regional Indigenous Council (CRIC) denounced what it classified as an “armed attack” in the south of Cali, which left at least eight people wounded by gunshots.

Members of the CRIC have been mobilizing to the city since the end of April to support the anti-government demonstrations.

The president of Colombia, Iván Duque, asked his ministers this Sunday "to guarantee today the greatest deployment of the capacities of our Public Force to provide all the tranquility in the city of Cali."

Through a message to the nation, Duque also asked them to work with local authorities to end roadblocks.

That day, a judge also issued preventive detention against three men who allegedly participated in the murder of a police officer during the protests at the end of April in Soacha, Cundinamarca, reported the Attorney General's Office.

The detainees were accused of aggravated homicide in competition with qualified and aggravated theft, as well as illegal possession of firearms, although the judge did not accept the last two charges, the Prosecutor's Office reported in a statement on Saturday.

At the moment, it is unknown how the detainees declare themselves before the accusations or if they have lawyers to defend them.

According to authorities, the detainees were identified after reviewing security camera videos and obtaining testimonies, physical and forensic evidence, although no further details were provided.

Until that moment, the authorities registered at least 27 deaths in the protests, 364 civilians and 41 members of the public force injured during the riots, according to the Ombudsman's Office.

President Iván Duque arrived in Cali for a Security Council at 11:30 pm and left the city at 3:30 am.

He spoke with his cabinet, representatives of the Navy, Army, Police, the mayor of Cali, but did not invite protesters.

May 10

President Iván Duque met with the Unemployment Committee at the Casa de Nariño in Bogotá.

Protests in Colombia