5 Decades Overdue - Protests in Colombia turn deadly, outrage hints at deeper inequalities

Opinion Analysis by Alissar Azzam, Contributor

June 10, 2021

At the beginning of the 21st century, the region of Latin America witnessed a wave of leftist and socialist movements emerge and take power in what we’ve come to know as the “pink tide”. It wasn’t long after that a conservative backlash swept across the region and saw the re-installation of conservative governments. While this wave is yet far from ebbing, corruption, inequality, failed economic and social policies, booming illicit drug trade and organized crime have been fueling discontent over the years and eventually culminating in a sort of revival of the region’s left since 2019.

Bolsonaro’s election in the 2018 Brazilian elections and last December’s conservative government takeover in Uruguay dealt a huge blow to progressives in the region. However, the left has been successful in a plethora of other countries. In Argentina, Alberto Fernandez won enough votes to defeat center-right candidate Macri in a single round in 2019. In Bolivia, the Movement for Socialism returned to power in the 2020 with a landslide win for Luis Acre in the first elections since the 2019 ousting of Evo Morales. In Chile, around 78% of Chileans voted in a referendum to change their Pinochet-era constitution which lays a neoliberal economic model last October.

Those changes only came about following massive demonstrations stretching across the continent and led by labor unions, indigenous groups, progressives, human rights activists and students among others. From Ecuador to Peru, Guatemala to Colombia, one cannot but notice how the tide is turning – and while too soon to tell where exactly, current (and former) right-wing governments are clearly not happy about it.

With that said, wherever change occurred, it came with a price. Protestors witnessed multiple government crackdowns that culminated in high death tolls, but what they especially highlighted is unprecedented police brutality. In Chile, over 31 people were killed in the protests and more than 28,000 people jailed – many arbitrarily – with 5000 others injured according to a 2019 report by OHCHR. Numerous cases of sexual assault, torture, and rape by the Carabineros (national Chilean law enforcement police) were also included in the report. Today, this bloody scenario is replicated in Colombia.

So, what’s happening in Colombia?

Last month, the government of right-wing Iván Duque pushed through a proposal for tax reform which did not seem to settle well with Colombians. The decision came at a time when Coronavirus had deepened economic inequality and elevated poverty levels to 42.5%. As a result, people took to the streets and violent protests broke out across the country – many of which quickly turned deadly. Till date, 49 deaths were officially reported, with Human Rights Watch reports placing the number at 63.

Mounting pressure pushed Duque to withdraw the tax plan proposal only five days into the protests, but continued police brutality further fueled public anger. What started as an unpopular tax reform protest quickly seemed to pick up on last year’s antigovernmental protests then halted by the pandemic. The city of Cali, the heart of protests and third largest city in Colombia, has especially suffered. In one instance, a civilian reportedly opened fire on protestors. On the last days of May, the Duque administration deployed military troops to Cali to lift road blockades and protect the “people’s peace” and “strategic assets” of Colombia. However, according to residents, this military deployment has only made them “more fearful, not less”.

In an exclusive interview, I talked to Colombian national and political scientist Mariana Duque Díez; she explains, “Protests in Colombia are a phenomenon of accumulated inequality and unsolved claims. The tax reform is only the tip of the iceberg, because in reality there is a legitimate historical debt.”

What’s behind the protests?

The previous government of Manuel Santos – president from 2010 till 2018 – reached a peace agreement in 2016 with one of the main far-left guerilla groups in the Colombian conflict, the FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia). The Colombian conflict is an ongoing 5-decade low intensity, asymmetric war between numerous factions, such as the ELN (National Liberation Army), EPL (Popular Liberation Army), Mexican drug cartels, and far right paramilitary groups among others over territorial control and influence in Colombia. The peace deal aimed towards dismantling one of the biggest and most significant groups of the conflict, in hopes of ending their war motivations.

The peace deal faltered, however, when Duque’s presidency saw half-hearted implementation of its measures and signaled hostility to the deal itself. Coupled with an uptick in violence against social activists and indigenous leaders, increased inequality and corruption, and overall regional unrest, labor unions called for national strikes in November 2019 following rumors of incoming austerity measures and pension cuts.

Moving forward:

President Duque offered national dialogue to put an end to the uprising, in parallel to that of 2019 where the government did not live up to its promises nor done enough to change the deep inequalities in the country according to civil society groups and unions. Now too, the government seems to be backtracking on its promises in regards to a pre-agreement reached by both sides.

A committee representing protesting groups was formed, the National Strike Committee (CNP). President Duque seemed to be especially worried about roadblocks, which he blames for causing shortages and affecting exports. He refuses to negotiate with the CNP over this. "Yes to conversation ... but no to roadblocks," he said.

The CNP still awaits the signing of the pre-agreement. Coupled with a stalemate in talks between the two, now stretching into its second month, thousands of Colombians took to the streets once more on June 2nd in discontent. President of the CUT (Central Union of Workers) Franc Maltes accuses the government of delaying the signature. “The government lacks the political will to seek an agreement. We are waiting for the government to sign the pre-agreement for guarantees needed to protect protesters' rights” he says.

With protestor’s demands widening and more skepticism surrounding the pre-agreement, and until the 2022 elections, Colombians are hoping for an end to police brutality and protection of protestors, while the government hopes for lifting blockades and refraining from violence.

On a final note, when asked about her hopes for the future of Colombia, Díez says “I hope this new wave of discontent and subsequent mobilizations can lead to a structural reform, in which institutions serve and represent the Colombian people. No one should die to ask for better life conditions. “