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After 18 days of a civic strike in the Colombian state of Choco, the people have forced the Colombian government to negotiate an agreement to end the strike.
The Choco Civic Committee, responsible for organizing the protests, and the National Government Commission, headed by Alfonso Prada, Secretary General of the Presidency of the Republic, reached an agreement Saturday.
El Tiempo reported that under the agreement, the government pledged to initially invest approximately US$15 million in order to build highways linking Quibda with Medellin and Quibdo with Pereira. The project is scheduled for completion by 2022.
The remaining resources for the completion of both roads, an estimated US$96 million, will be prioritized during the preparation for the medium-term fiscal framework next year.
According to the agreement, US$29 million will be invested in the construction of a new hospital. Resources allocated for the project also include the improvement of sanitation and San Francisco Hospital staff.
The accord also stipulated the construction of medium complexity hospitals in the municipalities of Riosucio and Itsmina and the restauration of Bahia Solano hospital.
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The government also agreed to define the provincial demarcation located along Belen de Bajira , a territory of about 1,600 miles and 16,000 inhabitants that has been disputed between Antioquia and Choco for more than 15 years.
The civic committee and the government agreed to continue consultations on the social and economic issues that sparked the protests and the solutions proposed to end the strike.
Leonardo Montoya, a member of the committee warned that despite the agreement, if the government fails to fulfill its promises, “Choco will resume the strike. The timetable is not upon us. These are dates agreed to and signed by the government.”
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