The far-right Duque administration in Colombia is only fifteen months old, but its polarizing policies have brought the country to its knees, with a third general strike in just two weeks shutting down the country yesterday.
The strike’s vanguard is a coalition of of student groups, trade unions, indigenous peoples’ groups, and the political opposition. They have had a single, unproductive meeting with the Duque regime.
The strikers have presented 13 demands to the government, including dismantling the paramilitary ESMAD “riot police,” scrapping a tax bill that would effect a massive wealth transfer from the poor to the wealthy, and adherence to the peace deal that ended hostilities with the FARC guerrillas in 2016.
“The Colombian people have woken up!” shouted Paola Jiminez, a 41-year-old lawyer taking part in a pot-banging “cacerolazo” demonstration in Bogota.“Colombians are finding it more and more difficult financially,” she said.
A student taking part in one of several peaceful protests in Bogota, who gave his name as Nicolas, held up a banner saying: “The state lies more than my ex.”
Third general strike keeps pressure on Colombia’s Duque [AFP]
(via Naked Capitalism)