Statement rejecting the acts of state violence that occurred during the national strike in Colombia

Given the complex circumstances that Colombia has been experiencing these days, the CLACSO Working Group on Decolonial Epistemologies, Territorialities and Culture, makes public its concern and rejection regarding the extreme advance of state violence, which is taking place throughout the territory.

In the midst of the legitimate and constitutional protests that began on April 28th, in rejection of neoliberal economic policies focused on a new tax reform, active citizens, social organizations, and social movements, in addition to being subjected to stigmatizing, criminalizing, and judicial harassment by the establishment, have been the target of explicit and open expressions of violence by the military apparatus. The result, after several days of unequal confrontations with the population, is approximately 904 acts of police violence, including murders, arbitrary detentions, sexual assaults, and disappearances.

As a research and reflection group focused on decolonial issues, and convinced of our active role in diverse arenas, not only in academic but also in social debates, we emphatically reject the actions systematically taken by the Colombian state against civil society groups that express their views. We support all social and political expressions that promote critical analysis, active participation, and the dignification of life for communities in their territories. We stand in solidarity with all those who have been directly affected by state violence.

4 of may 2021
CLACSO Working Group
Decolonial epistemologies, territorialities and culture

This statement expresses the position of the Working Group Decolonial epistemologies, territorialities and culture and not necessarily that of the centers and institutions that make up the CLACSO international network, its Steering Committee or its Executive Secretariat.