Colombians Prepare Protests Against President Duque

The National Strike Committee (CNP) convened a day of mobilizations for Sept. 28, with the aim of rejecting President Ivan Duque's neoliberal policies and legal reforms.

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Workers, farmers, and students wil march “for life, peace, and democracy. They will raise their voices against Duque's policies and corruption,” said Francisco Maltes, the president of the Workers Central Unitary (CUT).

Besides rejecting a regressive tax reform, protests will seek to force Duque to dialogue on the issues addressed in 10 bills related to the “emergency document,” an anti-crisis proposal backed by millions of Colombians who took to the streets in Nov. 2019 and April 2021.

The Strike Committee denounced that Duque and his lawmakers approved a national budget that increases external debt service by 10 percent while reducing financing for the agricultural sector.

Unlike them, the 10 bills presented by social organizations seek to benefit Colombians affected by the economic crisis and include claims such as the establishment of an emergency basic income, the non-payment of tuition in public universities, the strengthening of the public health network, the defense of labor rights, and the reactivation of small and medium-sized enterprises.

Citizens also demand actions to fight gender violence, guarantees for the exercise of the right to protest, and substantive reforms to the National Police, an institution that has been immersed in well-documented human rights violations. They urge lawmakers not to enact a reform that would force young people to work for wages below the minimum living wage.

In addition, the neoliberal government seeks a reform to the capital market norms that "delivers pension savings to large financial consortia," local outlet El Pilon recalled.