Colombia

The National Strike In Colombia: A Trade Union Perspective

July 7, 2021 Daniel Hawkins, Socialist Project Resist! Colombia, Latin America, Protests

While the beginnings of this strike were directly tied to popular discontent with the government’s proposed tax reform bill, it was also a resurgence of the huge protests that enveloped Colombia from November 2019 to February 2020. But more than just a spontaneous reflection of the broad social crisis that has gripped Colombia for decades, the present context portends a much deeper, wider, and momentous social explosion.

Protesters In Colombia Are Finding Ways To Break The Stigma Of Dissent

July 1, 2021 Cruz Bonlarron Martínez, Waging Nonviolence. Strategize! Colombia, Finance and the Economy, Media, National Strike

A recent satirical video has been gaining steam among Colombian youth, titled “Todo es Culpa de Petro,” **or “Everything is Petro’s fault.” The video highlights the story of a young man who has everything going wrong in his life, from missing class to getting rejected by his crush. The person behind his misfortune is revealed to be none other than leftist politician Gustavo Petro, former M-19 guerilla, senator and presidential candidate. Although the video is meant to be a joke, it does reflect the dominant media narrative — and much of the mainstream political discourse — which blames the protests that have gripped Colombia since April 28 on Petro. This is despite the fact that he has no connections to them, and they have been spontaneously organized.

Strikers Across Colombia Are Demanding Transformational Change

June 28, 2021 Tom Power and Cruz Bonlarron Martínez, Labor Notes. Resist! Colombia, National Strike, Police, State Violence

What started as a Colombian protest against a regressive tax bill has become a national strike against police brutality and poverty. The administration of President Ivan Duque has already pulled back the tax reform and the finance minister has resigned, but people are angry and marches and road blocks continue. Unions, student groups, and other organizations have formed a National Strike Committee which is negotiating with the government, demanding transformational change. Among the strike committee’s demands are guaranteed health care during the pandemic, a universal basic income, and a commitment to protecting domestic industries. Protesters are blocking roads and commerce to create leverage, which the government claims is causing shortages of basic goods.

Colombia Removes Statues Of Columbus And Spanish Queen After Attacks

June 14, 2021 Adriaan Alsema, Colombia Reports. Resist! Colombia, Indigenous Rights, Racism, Statues

Colombia’s culture ministry removed statues of 15th-century explorer Christopher Columbus and Spain’s late Queen Isabella amid fears they would be tumbled. Government workers removed the statues from their pedestals in the capital Bogota on Friday after native Colombian protesters tried to tumble them on Wednesday. The attempts triggered tensions with a fringe white supremacist group that subsequently tried to attack the protesters of the Misak people from southwest Colombia. According to the Culture Ministry, the statues that were erected in 1906 were taken to a safe place for “a process of restauration.” The National Patrimony agency said that it would hold talks with different social sectors about the future of the European explorer and the late monarch who financed the naval adventure that led Columbus to the Americas.

Social Movements And Protestors Intensify Struggle In Colombia

June 10, 2021 Peoples Dispatch. Resistance Report Colombia, National Strike, Peru, Worker Rights and Jobs

In today’s episode of the Daily Round-up we look at the ongoing national strike in Colombia and the establishment of the National People’s Assembly by various social movements, the ongoing vote count in Peru as the presidential runoff elections draw to a close, a countrywide strike for better wages and safe working conditions by health workers in New Zealand, the ongoing strike to demand a renewal of wages by garment and textile workers in Lesotho, and 6 years of the #NiUnaMenos movement against femicide and other forms of gender-based violence.

Peace In Colombia Should Mean Land Reform And An End To Hunger

June 3, 2021 Vijay Prashad and Zoe Alexandra, People's Dispatch. Resist! Colombia, Human Rights, Hunger, Land Reform

Since the end of April, Colombia’s streets have smelled of tear gas. The government of Colombian President Iván Duque imposed policies that put the costs of the pandemic on the working class and the peasantry and tried to suffocate any advancement of the Havana peace accords of 2016. Discontent led to street protests, which were repressed harshly by the government. These protests, Rodrigo Granda of Colombia’s Comunes party told us in an interview, “are defined by the wide participation of youth, women, artists, religious people, the Indigenous, Afro-Colombians, unions and organizations from neighborhoods of the poor and the working class. Practically the whole of Colombia is part of the struggle.”

Urgent Situation Developing At Oil Field In Putamayo, Colombia

June 1, 2021 Brent Patterson, Peace Brigades International - Canada. Educate! Colombia, Human Rights, Police abuse, Worker Rights and Jobs

Corporación Viso Mutop has just tweeted this video noting: “This is the situation inside the oil well of the Canadian multinational Gran Tierra. Peasants, tired of waiting for the attention of the final government, entered that Well in Villagarzón #Putumayo.” Pueblerina en Paro has also tweeted: “In PUTUMAYO SOS, the Anti-narcotics police and the National Army shoot firearms at protesters. One seriously injured. Costayaco well of Gran Tierra. Villagarzon PUTUMAYO.”

Torture sites and mass graves reported in Colombia

June 1, 2021 Dominic Gustavo, WSWS. Educate! Colombia, Latin America, State Violence, Torture

A May 23 report prepared by the human rights organization Justicia y Paz stated that fascistic paramilitary groups, which operate in concert with the far-right and US-backed regime of Colombian President Ivan Duque, have created torture sites and mass graves in an attempt to suppress protests in the city of Cali, which has been the epicenter of continuing countrywide demonstrations.

Update On Cali And African Liberation Day

May 31, 2021 Black Alliance for Peace. Educate! Africa, Black Liberation, Colombia, State Violence

Saturday morning, the Black Alliance for Peace (BAP) got word the neoliberal, right-wing Colombian state was deploying its military into the predominantly Afro-Colombian city of Calí. To top it off, the internet was not working. That prompted us to put out an alert on Twitter. Later in the day, we heard from our folks that the internet appeared to be up and running again. But we remain vigilant because the national government had deployed the military to Calí and other cities after issuing a decree on Friday forcing governors and mayors to cooperate with the militarized response to the national strike. This move came after a month of unrest and severe state repression sparked by opposition to the government’s attempt to impose an austerity plan that would have transferred the economic crisis created by neoliberalism onto the backs of the working class.

Colombia: An Observer’s Account

May 30, 2021 Teri Mattson, Peoples Dispatch. Resistance Report Colombia, Human Rights, Miitarization, State Violence

The International Mission of Solidarity and Human Rights Observation arrived to Colombia on May 25 to verify denouncements of human rights violations committed by the Colombian forces during the National Strike. Teri Mattson of CODEPINK who is part of the delegation sends a report from Pereira where she and other members of the mission have been meeting with human rights organizations and movements.

Why Israel Is Aiding Colombia’s Crackdown On Protesters

May 30, 2021 Alan Macleod, Mintpress News. Educate! Colombia, Israel, Militarization, State Violence

Bogota - For exactly one month now, a nationwide strike has crippled Colombia and has been met with deadly repression by the far-right government of Ivan Duque. As trade unions have shut down major cities, halting mass transit and bringing economic gridlock to the country, government forces have responded with violence. According to government figures, at least 44 people have been killed in protests that began on April 28. A further 500 people have been “disappeared,” more than 100 shot with live fire, and at least 28 have been wounded in the eye by police, the notorious ESMAD riot squad, or by paramilitary organizations linked to the state. The crackdown on dissent is being abetted by the Israeli government, which itself is dealing with widespread economic, military and social revolt from its captive Palestinian population.

The Struggle Continues in Colombia

May 22, 2021 Gearóid Ó Loingsigh, Left Voice. Resist! Class Struggle, Colombia, Ivan Duque, State Violence

Colombia's wave of protests continues unabated. On May 12th, there were massive demonstrations throughout the country, indicating that the movement shows no immediate signs of waning. Between the last national mobilisation and this one there were numerous smaller protests around Bogotá and some big ones in other cities. It is clear from these demonstrations how popular the revolt is. Walking back from the north of the city, I encountered just such a demonstration a few days ago, one of many throughout the city that day. What struck me was the number of cars, motorbikes, and commercial vehicles sounding their horns in support. A Coca Cola supply lorry even joined in. At 6.40 PM, after sunset the Police attacked what can only be described as revellers --- the protest was over and they were just enjoying themselves.

Repression Of National Protests In Colombia Is Backed By The United States

May 17, 2021 Margaret Flowers, Clearing the FOG. Podcast Colombia, Neoliberalism, State Repression, US Imperialism

Colombians have been on a national strike since April 28 with protests in 500 cities and blockades that have shut down the major highway. The protests were sparked by a proposed bill that would place the burden of financing the country's debt on the people while cutting taxes for the wealthy, but economic conditions for most people have been in decline for a long time. The government has responded to the protests with violent repression by its militarized police that are funded and trained by the United States. Clearing the FOG speaks with Charo Mina-Rojas, a human rights defender in Colombia who was a leader in the 2016 peace agreement, about the protests, the conditions and the political environment in Colombia.

What’s Happening With Youth Protest And Police In Colombia

May 16, 2021 Manuela Vega, Toronto Star. Resist! Colombia, State Violence, Youth Activism

The demonstrations in Bogotá, Colombia kick off with musical performances, theatrical shows and people in traditional dress; they’re like festivals. Young people fill the capital’s major transitways and the Plaza de Simon Bolivar, a downtown square that is home to several culturally and politically significant buildings, to have their voices heard, Yaneth Ordoñez, an artist and high school teacher at the protests said. But this time, the government has met civilians with bullets. On April 28, Colombians protested, in large part, as a response to tax increases proposed by president Iván Duque’s government. Critics said the proposal would have weighed heavily on lower and middle class citizens — especially as the pandemic has increased economic hardship — while sparing the wealthy.

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