News / Colombia

17 dead, 800 injured in protests against tax reform in Colombia

Monday, 03 May 2021 6:01 PM [ Last Update: Monday, 03 May 2021 6:07 PM ]

A man returns a tear gas canister at police during a demonstration outside Colombian President Ivan Duque's house in Bogota on May 1, 2021. (Photo by AFP)

At least 17 people have lost their lives and more than 800 others sustained injuries in fierce clashes that erupted in Colombia over a controversial tax reform proposal.

The Colombian Ombudsman's Office said on Monday that 16 civilians and one police officer died, and 846 people, including 306 civilians, were injured during five days of violent protests over a proposed government tax reform that drew widespread anger across the South American nation.

Police also took 431 people into custody while the government deployed the military in cities at high risk for violence.

Nongovernmental organizations and social activists have accused the police of using excessive force and firing at civilians to quell the unrest that broke out throughout the country on April 28.

Police, protesters hurl rocks at each other in tense Colombia protest

Protesters and police standing on opposite sides in the Colombian capital traded rocks Thursday, amid public outrage over a planned tax reform in the country.

Colombia’s Defense Minister Diego Molano, however, claimed that the violence was "premeditated, organized, financed by FARC dissidents" and members of the ELN.

The rebels of the so-called Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) signed a peace deal with the government in 2016 to end more than a half century of conflict, leaving the National Liberation Army (ELN) as the last recognized guerrilla group in the country.

The Colombian government introduced the tax reform bill on April 15 with the aim of generating $6.3 billion between 2022 and 2031 to reignite the fourth largest economy in Latin America.

The proposed reform was seen by protesters as a means of increasing taxes on individuals and businesses and eliminating many exemptions.

Colombia's president withdrawing 'vital' tax reform after bloody protests

Colombia

Faced with the unrest, the government of President Ivan Duque ordered that the proposal be withdrawn from Congress on Sunday but people continued protests in the capital, Bogota, by blocking roads and junctions.

Colombia's economy shrank by 6.8 percent in 2020 — its worst performance in half a century — due to coronavirus restrictions, with unemployment reaching 16.8 percent in March and 42.5 percent of the population living in poverty.

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