COLOMBIA IS EXPLODING
05/10/2021
Facundo Escobar
Massive protests have been taking place in Colombia. They began as a demonstration against the government’s intent to impose a new neoliberal tax reform. Violence by the state and the ruling party was unleashed indiscriminately in the main cities of the country. Even after Duque withdrew his bill from Congress on May 2, protests continued to grow. What exactly is happening? It’s been 9 days in a row of unprecedented massive protests, occurring in a context of deep social crisis. The government’s response was in line with what it has always done: use violence to impose conformity. But this time, an empowered citizenry has begun fighting back, starting a new stage in the historical conflict process.
Manifestations of the post Peace Accords phase
The people are no longer afraid: they have come to occupy the streets with remarkable organizational capacity and will to fight. The pro imperialist oligarch regime is tumbling and answering back with force. Meanwhile, it seems that there is no political articulation that can channel this anti system energy, build new leaderships and conduit the movement towards a new social force to produce a regime change. The much sought-after shift from a 21st century oligarchical regime to a popular or even a socialist regime seems to be on the horizon.
The deep crisis in Colombia and its roots
An oligarchic bloc has consolidated itself in power since 1948, providing continuity to anti-popular and repressive governments, carrying out strong and persistent policies in favor of a handful of powerful families. All of this, of course, is done the name of democracy.
The Colombian economy has long been based on dismantling the State through the privatization of strategic sectors such as energy, mining, communications and financial services. Anti-national interests, transnational looting and predation logic prevails. The Colombian government has expanded the exemptions and deductions for the big capital, which has accumulated profits in a staggering way, especially during the Uribe Vélez government (2002-2010). Control over capital flow is ineffective or non-existent. Small businessmen and middle classes have been left high and dry. The working class is unemployed, starved or overexploited, leaving many skeptics or opponents of the political system. The peasants are without land. The latifundio and the landowner dominate.
Colombia is one of the most unequal countries in the world, because of the very high and massive levels of poverty but also because of the concentration of wealth (and land) in few hands. Nearly half of its population is poor and more than 6.3 million had to leave their land after having survived massacres carried out by the army and paramilitaries and the glyphosate sprayed by Plan Colombia. Unemployment reached 14.5% this year. Half of the economy is informal. There are serious difficulties for vaccination. Infection outbreaks are going on, forcing partial closures of shops.
More:
https://uwidata.com/18403-colombia-is-exploding/
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