More than a week of violent protests across Colombia have seen least 25 people killed and hundreds injured, prompting statements of concern from the US government and the European Union.
BOGOTA — More than a week of violent protests across Colombia have seen least 25 people killed and hundreds injured, prompting statements of concern from the US government and the European Union. Fueled by frustration over COVID-19’s crushing economic pain and exacerbated by a heavy-handed police response, the upheaval has reached 247 cities and towns, according to Colombia Interior Minister Daniel Palacios. Here’s what you need to know. Colombians first hit the streets on April 28 to protest a controversial fiscal reform introduced by President Ivan Duque. “The reform is not a whim. It’s a necessity to keep the social programs going,” he has said. CNN has previously reported that Colombia needs to increase revenues through taxes in order to be able to spend — and even to maintain vital social programs like cash support for the unemployed and credit lines to businesses struggling with the pandemic. But critics argued the tax hikes — like a proposed value added tax (VAT) increase on everyday goods — would disproportionally impact middle and working classes and escalate inequality in the country’s pandemic-hit economy. Unemployment in Colombia is currently at 16%. It was 9% before the pandemic began, according to Colombia’s National Statistics Department. Duque has withdrawn the proposed reform, but popular anger has only kept growing — fueled at least in part by the government’s iron-fisted response to protests. Videos of anti-riot policemen using tear gas and batons against protesters have gone viral on social media, spreading beyond big cities and across the country.
