J Balvin, Maluma, Shakira, Carlos Vives, and the UN alike have addressed the chaos that has unfolded in Colombia during the last week; asking to pray for the country, civilians and victims, as well as condemning the human rights violations perpetrated by the current government. What is happening in the South American country, and how did it all occur and why?
To fully understand what is happening in Colombia, one must take a step back. Was this all a flimsy house of cards ready to collapse?
According to an International Monetary Fund report published in January 2021, the Colombian economy drastically contracted with "severe repercussions for women, young adults, those below the poverty line, and in the informal sector". The national economy also received a severe blow due to the pandemic, from which it is only beginning to recover. Even though the country entered March of last year encouraged by the promising growth, it ended the month this year in a state of agonizing semi-paralysis that lasted throughout April.
This is the most resounding crash in half a century, and the coronavirus pandemic has further increased an already high unemployment rate.
In response to this, the Colombian government, headed by President Ivan Duque, proposed a tax reform which it claimed would help those in most need. Alberto Carrasquilla, the then Ministry of Finance, presented the 'Sustainable Solidarity Law', which he argued would guarantee an income to households in poverty or extreme poverty.
In reality, the proposed reforms would have lowered the threshold at which salaries are taxed, affecting anyone with a monthly income of US$656 in a country where the minimum wage is US$234. It would have also eliminated many of the current exemptions enjoyed by individuals, while increasing taxes imposed on businesses and goods covered by the Value Added Tax (VAT).
The law also proposed to impose VAT collection, currently 19% in Colombia, on essential consumer products such as public utilities (water, electricity and gas), funeral services, electronic objects such as computers, and other items so far exempted. The proposals caused outrage among those who argued that they are already struggling to feed their families during the pandemic.
"The tax reform was only the catalyst; there has been a feeling of resentment brewing underneath the surface for a long time. There is a significant mistrust in the government and we are looking at a new generation that does not have fear," Mafe Carrascal, political advisor for the House of Representatives and founder of the corporation El País Primero, which advocates for human rights and guides young activists.
And so, Colombians peacefully took the streets last Wednesday -and have not stopped since- to demand the withdrawal of the initiative. "Si un pueblo sale a protestar en medio de una pandemia, es porque el gobierno es más peligroso que el virus" ("If people protest in the middle of a pandemic, it is because the government is more dangerous than the virus") is what banners read in the main cities of Colombia, such as Bogota, Medellin, and Cali.
"We were peacefully protesting, but the government infiltrates police officers dressed as civilians to instigate chaos and blame us. They destroy government property. They use aggression against their own to make us look like vandals. They do this so the Heads of State can delegitimize our struggle and implement reforms to finance their own greedy needs, like buying planes at a time like this!" Isabella Londoño, an activist from Cali, told LatinoLife.
The ‘buying planes’ Londoño refers to are the 24 airplanes (F16) for the Colombian Air Force for a total of COP$14Bn (USD 3.7Bn). On top of that, the Duque administration has employed State publicity and communication strategists to better the Presidents poll turnout for the price of COP$20.000m (USD 5.2M). It has acquired 18 military tanks for COP$12.000m (USD 3M). and purchased 23 new armored vehicles for Ivan Duque's entire security team for COP$9.600m (USD 2.5M).
The bill for the communications team for the Ministry of Defense is COP$898.000m (USD 234M) and the government has also increased Senators' salary from COP$32.741.000 (USD$ 8,541) to COP$34.417.000 (USD$ 8,921).
So what is to be done? The case of Cali
As of late, the United Nations has condemned the violent repression of protest; clashes between police and demonstrators have left people missing. Riot police fill the streets with tear gas, shooting protesters at point-blank range and charging at crowds with motorcycles, leaving multiple dead in Cali, the third-largest city in the country, which has a sizable Afro-Colombian population.
Colombia's defense minister, Diego Molano, insisted that the conduct of the police officers' has "fallen within the law" and it is "[their] duty to protect those who protest -and those who do not- from those who disguise themselves and take advantage of these crowds to terrorize Colombians."
"What you need to understand is that this protest, this paro, in Cali is being lived in a very Caleño manner. This city is the Salsa city of Colombia. We are music, and dance and celebration, and this protest began the same way. Actually, at the beginning of all of this, one would even think this was La Feria de Cali, not a revolt against a tax reform," Alberto Bejarano, caleño lawyer, ex-political advisor for the party El Polo Democrático and advocate for human rights, affirmed
The city's airport, from which over 25 flights depart each day, has now closed. Roadblocks on the city's edges and the roads to the nearby Pacific seaport in Buenaventura also were reported obstructed as of Tuesday morning. Local NGOs monitoring police violence, such as Temblores, tweeted, "Your life comes before everything else, and the state is deliberately attacking."
In a live message on Sunday, Duque asked his country's Congressmen to withdraw the controversial tax reform bill. "I ask the Congress of this Republic to withdraw the project filed by the Ministry of Finance and urgently process a new project as a result of consensus and thus avoid financial uncertainty," the president continued. "The reform is not a whim. It is a necessity. Whether it is withdrawn or not is not the real discussion. What is of the utmost importance is guaranteeing the continuity of social programs," he added.
"The news was unexpected. Never in the history of neoliberal Colombia has a government taken back a tax reform; the Colombian people were not expecting that, but, regardless, it was viewed as a win and a sign of hope", Bejarano explained.
Furthermore, what did they ask for next? For Alberto Carrasquilla to resign and to discard the new Health Reform "because this proposal is as bad, if not worse, than the tax reform. People on the street are even throwing around the thought of overthrowing the government, so it [the current administration] is in a very precarious place right now."
On Monday morning, Carrasquilla announced his resignation. The Congressman tweeted, "My continuity in government would make it difficult to build the necessary consensus quickly." José Manuel Restrepo became the new Minister of Finance.
"Not only did this bring joy to the people, but, once again, they felt hope. Hope for themselves. Hope for their community. Hope for their nation," Bejarano continued. "It is clear that this is not the end of the protest because their government has let down the Colombian people for so long that now young people and minorities want to be heard; they want to address the issues that have been swept under the rug for so long."
Afro Colombians, indigenous populations, and women have taken the podium and used social media to let the world know of the atrocities being committed. As local media focuses on the damage perpetrated to cities and property while excluding live footage of police brutality, shootings against unarmed civilians, bloodstained streets and more, young adults have chosen to live stream on Instagram and Facebook.
"We are seeing women taking command and taking a stand against police injustice, but that has also led to an increase in rapes, sexual assaults, sexual intimidation and more on behalf of police and military officers on a dangerous level", Mafe Carrascal commented. "This is all about the caleñas; the face of this revolt is the women of Valle del Cauca", Bejarano added.
As a response to this, Duque's administration militarized the streets with armed soldiers and tanks, further exacerbating the problem. Some Congress members have even suggested suspending internet access, so the people's documentation of the events come to a halt. "There has been a clear abuse of power from the executive branch already as it has revoked local authorities' powers so Duque can command on a federal level; it can be seen in Cali as the mayor no longer has jurisdiction," Carrascal added.
The NGO Temblor published a victims balance from April 28 to May 1, counting 940 cases of police brutality, 30 cases of gun misuse against civilians from police, 21 homicides in the hands of public security forces, 672 arbitrary arrests from police and four victims of sexual abuse from police.
No end to the struggle seems to be in sight as Centro Democrático- the party created by ex-president Alvaro Uribe, despised by many due to his violence-led actions while in power- is soliciting the current administration to declare a state of 'internal commotion.' If the government concedes, the Head of State would assume the powers of regional legislators, restrict demonstrations and take control of radio and television.
Will Ivan Duque follow through?
The recent struggles
On August 26, 2018, the widespread anti-corruption consultation of Colombia was held. Voters were asked to vote Yes or No on seven corruption-related questions. It was the first popular consultation that has been held at a national level in the history of the country. It was necessary to obtain at least 12,140,342 votes (33.3%) and for the Yes to obtain more than 50% of the votes to be taken into consideration. However, the high electoral abstention during the day prevented the threshold from being reached, and therefore rejected, leaving citizens with a sour taste in their mouths.
Months later, on January 11, 2019, various marches took place throughout the country called the "March of the lanterns"; the protesters demanded the resignation of the nation's attorney general, Néstor Humberto Martínez, for alleged connections with the Odebrecht corruption case, the impunity of the Colombian justice system and the wave of murders of social leaders.
Recordings revealed his direct involvement with the Brazilian construction company Odebrecht, which had been delivered by Alejandro Pizano, a key witness in the investigation. Both Pizano and his son mysteriously died of cyanide poisoning months before they could testify.
On November 5, 2019, a motion of censure was presented in Congress against the Minister of Defense, Guillermo Botero, for a bombing in San Vicente del Caguán's rural area by the Army against an alleged group of FARC-EP dissidents. Eight minors were killed and presented to the public as members of the dissident group without divulging their ages or clarifying that they had been reported as forcibly recruited.
Likewise, the crisis is exacerbated by the genocide of the area's criminal groups against the indigenous communities. Fifty-five of its members were murdered in 2019, and 2 massacres occurred in less than three days at the end of October without the State taking action.
The communities and organizations of Cauca gathered, announcing their support for the national strike on November 21 called for by labor unions, university students and civil society. Even singers, such as Carlos Vives, Adriana Lucía and Goyo from ChocQuibTown, as well as Miss Colombia 2019 María Fernanda Aristizábal, expressed their support and participation in the day of protests in the country.
On November 6, Guillermo Botero resigned as Minister of Defense without having completed the motion of censure in Congress.These events caused President Iván Duque's popularity to drop even further to historically low levels for someone who has been in office for just over a year.
On June 27, 2019, a march was organized in more than one hundred cities in Colombia and the world (the latter, of Colombians living abroad) called "March for Life", as a rejection of the genocide to which the social leaders are being subjected, different social issues and what seemed to be the nonexistent will of the government to prevent and combat these problems.
On November 21, an estimated 200,000 to 1 million Colombians protested throughout the country. The government responded by deploying 170,000 troops and closing its borders when demonstrations throughout Latin America were taking place. Demonstrations turned violent, with clashes between police and protesters occurring later in the day and some groups attempting to storm the Capitolio Nacional, the building that houses the Congress of Colombia.
The protests continued into 2020 until the pandemic took the world by surprise… until now.
