Statement condemning the violent state repression against popular mobilization in Colombia

El CLACSO Working Group Crisis and World Economy It expresses its condemnation of the violent repression unleashed by the government of Iván Duque against the Colombian people, who are exercising their legitimate right to demonstrate in the streets in rejection of his policies of austerity and death. The military and police forces have unleashed a massacre that has left at least 19 people dead, 800 wounded, 500 detained, and 87 missing.

On April 28, protests began in response to the proposed tax law, which the Duque administration intended to use to place an even greater burden of the ongoing economic crisis on the shoulders of the working class amidst the pandemic. According to official figures, GDP fell by 6,8% in 2020, unemployment reached 16,8%, and half the population works in the informal sector or lives in poverty.

The scale of the social mobilization is thus linked to the conditions of social inequality and hunger, exacerbated by the pandemic, suffered by millions of Colombians. The protests continue, with various social and labor organizations calling for a new national strike this Wednesday, May 5th, demanding a series of transformations that will create effective conditions for a dignified life for all. 

We demand that the Colombian State cease the repression and express our support, commitment and solidarity with the struggles of the Colombian people.

5 of May 2021th
CLACSO Working Group
Crisis and the global economy

This statement expresses the position of the Working Group Crisis and the global economy and not necessarily that of the centers and institutions that make up the CLACSO international network, its Steering Committee or its Executive Secretariat.