Thousands of protesters took to the streets of Colombia on Wednesday, marking the eighth day of unrest despite clashes that left at least 24 people dead and hundreds injured.
Students, unions, indigenous people, and other groups gathered in Bogotá, the capital as well as the cities of Medelln in the northwest and Cali in the southwest.
Their frustration was initially triggered by a proposed tax reform – since withdrawn, but the demonstrations have become freighted with anger over the government’s policies on health, education and inequality, as well as the violent repression by security forces.
According to official figures, at least 24 people have died – 18 of whom were shot – with more than 800 others wounded and 89 people reported missing during the week.
Demonstrators staged protests at various points around Bogotá holding banners with slogans calling for President Iván Duque to resign.
Presidential adviser Miguel Ceballos said that the government will meet with demonstrator representatives “next week,” while the high courts requested that any conversations include “all parties” from the “peaceful protests and social unrest.”
Thousands, most wearing face masks to prevent the spread of Covid-19, gathered at the downtown Plaza Bolívar near the presidential headquarters. Police prevented one group from entering Congress.
Another 8,000 people took to the streets of Medellín, Colombia’s second-largest city, by mid-morning.
While the demonstrations have been mostly peaceful, violence has escalated in some cities.
Despite recent calls for calm from the international community, fresh havoc was wreaked in the capital overnight.
The aftermath of the clashes was visible Wednesday in the form of torched police stations, vandalised bus shelters and banks and smoldering tires.
