A series of protests began in Colombia on 28 April 2021 against increased taxes, corruption, and health care reform proposed by the government of President Iván Duque. The tax initiative was introduced to expand funding to Ingreso Solidario, a universal basic income social program established in April 2020 to provide relief during the COVID-19 pandemic in Colombia, while the legislative Bill 010 proposed several changes in the health care system in Colombia.
Although the courts had anticipated the protests would be widespread, having annulled all existing permits out of fear of further spread of COVID-19, the protests began in earnest anyway on 28 April 2021. In large cities such as Bogotá and Cali, thousands to tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets, in some cases clashing with authorities, resulting in at least six deaths. Protests continued to grow over the coming days, and amidst promises by the president to rework his tax plan, they culminated into a large protest on 1 May, International Workers' Day. On 2 May, President Duque declared that he would fully withdraw his new tax plan, though no new concrete plans were announced. Despite policy adjustments, protests continued, fueled by intense crackdowns and reports of police brutality. By 21 May, protesters had alleged more than 2,000 instances of police brutality, including 27 cases of sexual violence, and around 200 people had been reported missing.
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and Human Rights Watch noted abuses by police against protesters, while former President Álvaro Uribe called on the people to support the actions of police and soldiers during the protests.
Background
In April 2021, President Iván Duque proposed increased taxes at a time when the COVID-19 pandemic in Colombia was beginning to worsen as various healthcare systems were failing throughout the country. The pandemic had also hurt the Colombian economy, with 42% of Colombians earning less than US$90 per month, and with one in four Colombians under the age of 28 unemployed. The tax reform was also devised to reduce Colombia's increasing fiscal deficit, which had resulted in international credit rating agencies downgrading the Colombian government's bonds thus raising the cost of borrowing.
Ingreso Solidario, a universal basic income social program introduced by the Duque government during the pandemic, had already provided at the time thirteen monthly payments of around US$43 to low-income populations since April 2020. Three million of about fifty million Colombians were eligible for Ingreso Solidario payments, with the program being at a smaller scale when compared to other Latin American countries. According to Merike Blofield, director of the German Institute for Global and Area Studies' Latin American division, "Compared to other countries in the region, the coverage that Ingreso Solidario offers is extremely weak [...]. For the 3 million people that got it, it certainly made a difference. But there were five times as many households that needed it."
The Duque government, seeking to expand the program to include 1.7 million more people and to establish a permanent basic income program, chose to pursue a tax reform for funding. The tax increase on many Colombians was presented as a way to provide US$4.8 billion for Ingreso Solidario. Duque's tax reforms included the expansion of value-added taxes on more products such as food and utilities, the addition of some middle-class earners into a higher tax bracket and the removal of various income tax exemptions.
A controversial legislative bill, Bill 010, proposed to reform health care in Colombia. Plans to privatize Colombia's health care system amid the pandemic, as well as the hasty method used to file the bill through a special committee in the House of Representatives that did not require congressional debate, also fueled discontent among Colombians.
Colombians were simultaneously experiencing the third-highest number of COVID-19 deaths in Latin America, the worst economic performance in fifty years with a gross domestic product decreasing 6.8 percent in 2020, and an unemployment rate of fourteen percent. Colombians were also angered by the proposed tax increase and organized a national labor strike similar to the 2019–2020 Colombian protests. In addition to the tax and healthcare reforms, strike organizers demanded a universal basic income at the nation's minimum wage level, additional support for small businesses and a ban on using glyphosate-based herbicides, including other requests.
Timeline
In preparation for protests, Judge Nelly Yolanda Villamizar de Peñaranda of the Administrative Court of Cundinamarca ruled on 27 April that permits to demonstrate in cities across the country be annulled, banning public demonstrations due to health risks related to COVID-19. Disgruntled citizens, however, ignored the public bans on protests.
Tens of thousands of protesters began demonstrating on 28 April 2021, with strong protests occurring in Cali where the statue of Spanish conquistador Sebastián de Belalcázar was torn down by Misak protesters. In Bogotá, tens of thousands protested and clashes with authorities began later in the day, with four thousand protesters maintaining their activities throughout the night. Two were killed on the first day of protests.
Police presence increased on 29 April when General Eliecer Camacho of the Metropolitan Police of Bogotá announced that 5,800 police would be deployed during the demonstrations. Some TransMilenio stations were also closed prior to further protests, with the government stating the closures were due to damage. The leader of the Central Union of Workers (CUT) described the 28 April demonstrations as a "majestic strike" and called for further protests throughout Colombia. Protests overall were in smaller numbers across the nation.
Protests would continue throughout Colombia on 30 April, especially in Cali, Bogotá, Pereira, Ibagué, and Medellín, with some demonstrations occurring in other smaller cities as well. President Duque first announced that he would not remove the tax reform, although he later stated that his government would consider removing some of the more controversial proposals from the tax reform plans. The mayor of Cali, Jorge Iván Ospina, responded to President Duque, stating: "Mr. President, the tax reform is dead. We don't want it to cause more deaths. Please, withdraw it, I am asking you for this on behalf of the people of Cali". In preparation for Workers' Day protests, the government deployed 4,000 troops and police officers to Cali.
On 1 May, International Workers' Day, tens of thousands of people protested in one of the largest demonstrations during the wave of protests, with cacerolazos heard in various cities. Minister of National Defense Diego Molano, a business administrator, said in Cali "according to intelligence information, criminal and terrorist acts in Cali correspond to criminal organizations and terrorists", relating the protesters to splinter groups of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). During the evening, President Duque said during a speech that he would increase the deployment of troops to cities experiencing violence.
President Duque announced on 2 May that he was withdrawing the tax reform, although he stated that reform was still necessary. Duque said that the tax reform "is not a whim, it is a necessity." Despite the elimination of the tax reform, protests continued to be promoted by organizers.
The National Strike Committee announced on 3 May that another day of protests would be held on 5 May, criticizing the Duque government for not convening with groups to make negotiations. During the first week of May, hundreds of university students turned off their webcams during virtual classes and shared posts online in solidarity with the strike.
President of Ecuador Lenín Moreno and Vice President of Colombia Marta Lucía Ramírez released statements on 5 May 2021 alleging that the protests were organized by Venezuela, stating that they were supported by President of Venezuela Nicolás Maduro. President Moreno, speaking at an Inter-American Institute for Democracy (IID) meeting in Miami beside Secretary General of the Organization of American States Luis Almagro, stated that "the intelligence organizations of Ecuador have detected the gross interference of dictator Maduro, ... in what is happening right now in Colombia". Vice President Ramírez would also release a statement saying that the protests were "perfectly planned, financed and executed" by Venezuela, stating that Maduro was attempting to install an allied government. Minister of Foreign Affairs of Venezuela, Jorge Arreaza, rejected President Moreno's accusations, saying that the Ecuadorian president was attempting to distract from his own "incompetence". Later in the day, protesters attempted to storm the Capitolio Nacional in Plaza Bolívar, Bogotá while some legislative sessions were occurring and were dispersed by authorities.
On 20 May 2021, Colombia was removed as co-host for the 2021 Copa América amid the ongoing protests. Road blockades continued through 20 May, most prominently in the departments of Cauca, Huila, and Valle del Cauca, in spite of a recent presidential order protecting protesters' freedom of movement. The blockades caused shortages in food and gasoline and made it harder for exports to leave the country. Protests against the celebration of football matches have been part of the debate.
A car bomb was detonated at a military outpost on Colombia's border with Venezuela in Cúcuta on 15 June 2021. The attack resulted in thirty-six people injured, with the United States embassy in Bogota reporting that U.S. troops present experienced insignificant injuries. Days later on 25 June, President Duque traveled to Cúcuta by helicopter with Minister of Defense, Diego Molano, Minister of the Interior, Daniel Palacios and the Governor of Norte de Santander, Silvano Serrano. While in a landing approach towards Camilo Daza International Airport, Duque's helicopter was struck by six rounds of gunfire. Paramilitary groups denied being involved in the attack.
Protest violence
Although the majority of protests were peaceful, several acts of vandalism occurred, mainly in Cali and Bogotá. In Cali, several buses and stations of the mass transit system MIO were vandalized and burned. About sixty percent of the MIO network was destroyed during protests.
On 1 May, Ombudsman of Colombia Carlos Camargo said that six had died during protests during the week, including five civilians and one police officer, and that 179 civilians and 216 police officers were injured. Human rights groups at the time provided different numbers, saying that at least fourteen were killed during the protests. By 3 May, the ombudsman reported nineteen deaths related to the protests, while the non-governmental organization Temblores reported twenty-one dead and the Colombian Federation of Education Workers (Fecode), which helped lead protests, reported twenty-seven deaths.
During the night and early morning of 3 May, in the city of Cali, 5 people died and 33 were injured due to clashes between protesters and the police and ESMAD. In the Siloe neighborhood, a peaceful demonstration was violently broken up by members of the public force. Numerous videos denouncing acts of brutality by the Colombian authorities were uploaded on social networks and in the media. In the La Luna neighborhood, also in Cali, that same night, a hotel was burned. While some versions suggest that a group of people incinerated it, others point out that the fire is the product of the ammunition explosion that ESMAD had.
Pereira firearm attack
On the night of 5 May, in Pereira, a firearm attack against protesters by an unknown individual occurred. A crowd began to disperse on the viaduct at around 6 in the afternoon, and a small group of people remained. The protesters were blocking the César Gaviria Trujillo Viaduct, a 700-meter bridge that connects the municipalities of Dosquebradas and Pereira. According to witnesses, a motorcycle approached and 8 shots were fired. 3 people were injured: Lucas Villa, Andrés Felipe Castaño (who is a minor) and Javier Darío Clavijo. The attackers then fled the scene. Some videos show student Lucas Villa protesting that same day in the morning, shouting "they are killing us", a phrase popularized in the demonstrations. Several videos show Lucas Villa as a protester who danced, and even shook hands with members of ESMAD. Minutes before the attack, recorded on video, Lucas and another person receive a soda and a package of meals. However, between 1 and 8 seconds of the video, a green laser is seen on Lucas's body. At second 10, a purple laser points at his head. Some witnesses claim that Lucas was followed up.
Lucas Villa gave a speech later. A video was posted on social media. The last words of the speech were "The ignorant, the stubborn, the sleeping, wake up." 17 seconds later, the sound of a motorcycle is heard and a cry that said "son of a bitch" is heard, and then 8 shots are fired. According to a witness, "the one who shoots arrived on a Biwis motorcycle. The only thing I saw were the fireworks. They got into the roundabout next to the viaduct, attacked at point-blank range and went that way. The man said: 'For fagots, for blocking.'” Seconds later an ambulance is heard passing in the direction of Pereira. Two witnesses told La Silla Vacía that they called to attend to the injured, but that the vehicle did not stop.