May 5, 2021 - World

Violent protests in Colombia leave at least 24 dead

Ivana Saric

Demonstrators in Bogota on Tuesday. — Demonstrators in Bogota on May 4. Photo: Juan Barreto/AFP via Getty Images

Mass anti-government protests unfolded across Colombia on Wednesday, topping off a week of unrest that has left at least 24 people dead, reports The Guardian.

Why it matters: The demonstrations started as a strike against a proposed tax reform but developed into wider outcry "over poverty exacerbated by the pandemic, human rights abuses and the authorities’ heavy-handed response to protests," per The Guardian.

The state of play: The unpopular tax reform proposal would have increased taxes on businesses and eliminated many of the individual exemptions passed due to the coronavirus pandemic, reports the BBC.

President Iván Duque Márquez announced last Sunday that the proposal would be shelved but protests have continued.

The big picture: Both Amnesty International and the United Nations have condemned the use violence by Colombian authorities in suppressing the protests.

More than 800 people have been injured in the clashes between protestors and the police, BBC reports.
23 protestors have died as well as one police officer, per The Guardian.

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Violent protests in Colombia leave at least 24 dead

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