Colombia’s National Strike Committee (NSC) called on citizens to take to the streets on Tuesday to protests against President Ivan Duque and support ten bills aimed at fighting the social inequalities prompted by the economic crisis.
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"The bills, which the official senators are not going to process, include the strengthening of the public health system, the reactivation of the agricultural sector, the guarantee of free education for university students, and the political participation of the youth," the NSC detailed, adding that Colombians reject the implementation of a tax reform that sets higher contributions for middle and low-income citizens.
“The Duque administration claimed that the tax reform would resolve basic income and free university tuition. This argument is false since the tax system does not allocate the necessary resources for this purpose," social leaders explained.
Mobilizations will take place nationwide, and Bogota is likely to have the most participants. In this city, protests will begin in the Enrique Olaya Park, where unions will meet to march to the Bolivar Square later.
"We trust that the protests will take place peacefully since over 350 'coexistence' managers, police officers and Mobile Anti-Riots Squadron (ESMAD) members will be ready to proceed in case of an alteration,” Bogota Mayor Luis Gomez assured.
However, the participation of these officers remains controversial since the Police and ESMAD members killed at least 43 Colombians, arbitrarily detained 1,445 people, and injured 1,133 citizens during mass anti-government protests held from April 28 to May 27. On Monday, the Police announced that over 40,000 officers would accompany the mobilizations nationwide.
“We are not afraid. We will continue fighting to eradicate state corruption and guarantee democracy and peace for all Colombians,” the NSC spokesperson Francisco Maltes assured.