Opinions: The Colombian protests reflect a deep legitimacy crisis

[Judi Lynn]

The country could slip into another cycle of violence if the government continues to ignore people’s grievances.

Fabio Andrés Díaz Pabón
Researcher at the African Centre of Excellence for Inequality Research

Maria Gabriela Palacio
Assistant professor in the Faculty of Humanities at Leiden University

22 May 2021

On April 28, protests erupted across Colombia after the right-wing government of Ivan Duque proposed increasing taxes amid the third wave of the coronavirus pandemic. Although the president withdrew the contentious tax reform proposal in the face of public anger, demonstrations have persisted, aggravated by a brutal crackdown.

At least 40 protesters have been killed and hundreds injured by security forces and armed men dressed in civilian clothes. Many have been arrested and dozens of women have been sexually assaulted by police officers.

The escalation of violence reflects not only the failure of the government to address longstanding socioeconomic grievances but also its increasing loss of legitimacy and retreat of democracy. This is putting the country at risk of slipping back into conflict.

The trigger: Unfair tax reform
The Colombian government initially advertised the tax reform it proposed as a measure aimed at collecting revenue to roll out a “solidarity income” scheme to help those Colombians most hard-hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. But the way the reform package was formulated made it clear that it was going to do more damage than good for the poor and vulnerable.

While the reform package included a wealth tax for individuals with assets above $1.35m, it also had many provisions that would have hurt low-income households. It would have lowered the taxable income threshold and increased pension and value-added tax (VAT), which would have significantly increased the prices of subsistence items, such as eggs, milk, cheese and meat.

More:
https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2021/5/22/the-colombian-protests-reflect-a-deep-legitimacy-crisis