海角大神

For the first time in his life,听63-year-old Carlos Camargo took to the streets in protest this month.听

On May 1, alongside his wife, two adult children, and son-in-law, the recently retired plastics factory worker decided it was his time to raise his voice for the government to hear.

鈥淚鈥檝e always supported these types of protests 鈥� I think they are necessary 鈥� but I鈥檝e never gone out myself,鈥� says Mr. Camargo. He has noted an uptick in poverty in the mountainous capital, Bogot谩, and is concerned only wealthy people will emerge from the pandemic鈥檚 struggles above water. The protesters鈥� loud chants and the fluttering of Colombian flags he witnessed during the demonstration have stayed with him.

鈥淲e are all fed up with the bad management of the current government,鈥� says Mr. Camargo鈥檚 daughter, Jessika, who works for a nonprofit organization. This is the first time she鈥檚 protested with family members. Together, they decided 鈥渋t was time to do something instead of just complaining.鈥�

Unrest has spread across Colombia since a tax increase proposed by the right-wing government of President Iv谩n Duque last month, which he argued was urgently needed to shore up the pandemic-hit economy. Violence quickly escalated in big cities, with almost 50 people killed, many at the hands of police.

Although the proposal sparked the protests, public frustration goes far beyond it. The poverty rate in Colombia went up nearly 7% over the past year, to 42.5%, according to Colombia鈥檚 national statistics agency.听Today, protesters鈥� demands have grown to include everything from universal basic income to halting health care privatization to the dissolution of Colombia鈥檚 riot police.

The widespread discord听after more than a year of pandemic-related lockdowns and losses may be a harbinger for what鈥檚 to come regionally. Governments across Latin America are faced with jump-starting pummeled economies, while citizens increasingly lose patience awaiting slow-to-arrive vaccines and a return to some kind of normalcy. Even pre-pandemic, Latin America had one of the highest levels of inequality in the world. The presence of entire families on the streets of Colombian cities听put front and center how the past year has听exacerbated preexisting challenges that are acutely hitting people regardless of age, race, or occupation.

鈥淲e know that the pandemic has affected people terribly,鈥� says Ms. Camargo. Protesting with her parents and brother 鈥渨as important for me because it shows that the protests aren鈥檛 only for young people and students.鈥�

Underlying听unemployment, poverty rates, and inequality have contributed to Colombia鈥檚 unrest, says Sergio Guzm谩n, director of Bogot谩-based Colombia Risk Analysis.

鈥淭he pandemic worsened all of those problems at the same time,鈥� he says. 鈥淭he tax reform added insult to injury, because it didn鈥檛 address this issue of inequality and unequal tax distribution.鈥�

鈥淏etter opportunities鈥�

From a humble background, Mr. Camargo began working when he was 15.听One of his main reasons for joining these protests was indeed the tax reform, which he believed would shield the rich while battering the working classes.听

The increase in poverty over the past year has been impossible to ignore, Mr. Camargo says. Extreme poverty more than听tripled in Bogot谩听between 2019 and 2020, when the pandemic upended the economy.

鈥淭here are more people on the streets, begging at the traffic lights, more are competing to clean the car windows for money,鈥� he says. Personally, he鈥檚 felt a crunch since retirement last year, but his children鈥檚 future is on his mind, too.听鈥淚 want my children and grandchildren to have better opportunities,鈥� he says.

President Duque鈥檚 tax proposal would have removed some tax exemptions and lowered the threshold for who must pay income tax. Days听after the demonstrations began, he withdrew it, directing the legislature to quickly draw up a new plan to 鈥渁void financial uncertainty.鈥� He听has attempted to hold talks with major unions and other groups in charge of organizing national strikes and protests, but they have yet to sow results. Many citizens in cities like Cali are suffering food and fuel shortages as more extremist protesters听enforce blockades and halt supplies from entering the cities. Last week, weapon-wielding civilians听tried to disperse demonstrators from roadblocks, further raising tensions and propelling a last-minute visit from Mr. Duque to calm the situation.

Mr. Guzm谩n, the political analyst, says Colombians felt the tax reform was untimely and would make their lives more expensive.听Many were further frustrated in the days following the tax reform announcement when the finance minister woefully underestimated the price of a dozen eggs in a television interview.

鈥淵ou can argue about the [tax reform] numbers all day long, but you can鈥檛 argue about the simple fact that the government and many of the members of the ruling party showed a huge disconnect with people,鈥� Mr. Guzm谩n says. 鈥淭he tax reform became a trigger for this wave of anger that had been repressed and pent-up for a while.鈥�

Police crackdown

Security forces鈥� clampdown has further unified opposition, drawing people of all generations to the streets.听

鈥淚 absorbed the energy of the young people there,鈥� says Mar铆a del Pilar Barbosa, a Bogot谩 business owner in her 50s who went out to protest with her daughter, Daniela, for the first time. They attended a special march for the mothers of children who have died during protests. 鈥淚t hits you hard when you see [young protesters] playing their drums, holding their signs,鈥� she says.

Her daughter gave her tips in case of any violence, and they stayed together the entire march.

鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot of older folks who really want to leave a better country for their children, and a lot of children 鈥� telling their grandparents 鈥楲ook, you have to march because of the environment or because of pension reform or health care reform,鈥欌�� says Mr. Guzm谩n. 鈥淭hese protests have brought together a very diverse cast of characters that makes a formidable opposition to the government.鈥�

The recent surge in protests is a continuation of what began pre-pandemic, in 2019. Tax reform wasn鈥檛 on the table, but frustration with government services and inequality was already festering. Now discontent is far more widespread, says Elizabeth Dickinson, a senior analyst with the International Crisis Group.

鈥淕rievances run a lot deeper,鈥� Ms. Dickinson says.听鈥淔undamentally it鈥檚 about 鈥� a feeling among many people that it鈥檚 impossible to have any social mobility and that鈥檚 because of the way the access to education and the labor market works.鈥�

The police clampdown听has garnered demands for a security overhaul. Colombia鈥檚 police, which report directly to the Ministry of Defense, are trained to deal with guerrilla warfare due to the country鈥檚 five-decade armed conflict. Since the 2016 peace accord, many question whether the country still needs such an aggressive police force.

鈥淲e have a security force that is used to looking for an enemy from within, looking for guerrilla forces, and so when you have peaceful protesters on the street, the way they feel they鈥檙e being treated is as if the security forces are at war with them,鈥� Ms. Dickinson says.

For Mr. Camargo, the protests must go on 鈥渦ntil something is achieved,鈥� despite the violence.

He has a message for his president, who he says 鈥渉as to listen.鈥�

鈥淧ut yourself in the shoes of working-class people. ... You have everything and there are some people who have absolutely nothing,鈥� he says.听鈥淲hile people continue to go hungry, while there鈥檚 so much inequality, there will never be peace in Colombia.鈥澨�