Protests in Colombia derail an important tax reform

SINCE APRIL 28TH protesters have defied an 8pm curfew, and the risk of catching covid-19, to take to the streets of Bogotá, Colombia’s capital. They have burned buses and police stations and looted banks and shops. Protesters also blocked all the main roads leading to Cali, the country’s third-largest city, for several days, resulting in empty shelves in grocery shops and a shortage of medicine in hospitals. At least 24 people died and more than 800 civilians and police officers have been injured. On May 1st Iván Duque, the president, sent in the army to quell the violence.

The protests were triggered by a tax-reform bill the government sent to Congress on April 15th. On May 2nd Mr Duque withdrew the unpopular bill. The next day the finance minister, Alberto Carrasquilla, resigned. But resentment against the president, whose approval rating is 33%, means that the unrest is likely to continue.