Colombia protests for democracy: understanding its connection with nature & how to support

Background: What is happening in Colombia?

The anti-government protests in Colombia started on April 28th and are now entering their 3rd week. It all started with the announcement of an unpopular tax reform by President Ivan Duque. The law would drastically affect the working class, expanding taxes to citizens, business owners, food and sales. After an incredibly challenging year for many due to COVID-19, the demonstrations were huge. On May 2nd, after 5 days of violence in the streets across the country, the proposal was partially withdraw and Duque said it would be revised (1).

May 12: A tight rope artist stands over demonstrators as they march during an anti-government protest in Bogotá. Ivan Valencia, Associated Press — May 12: A tight rope artist stands over demonstrators as they march during an anti-government protest in Bogota. Ivan Valencia, AP

In response to the rise of violence, protesters expanded their demands, calling for the government to tackle health inequalities, for economic support during the pandemic, and for the end of police brutality (2). The deal is, Colombian police are trained for war, but not to fight against a foreign threat, to combat other Colombian citizens, because of the Colombian conflict between government, far-right paramilitary groups, crime syndicates, and far-left guerrilla groups (3).

The violence numbers in Colombia are astonishing: 47 homicide victims, 39 of them were protesters killed by police (and there are many more that were not identified), 1443 cases of police brutality, 12 cases of sexual assault by police, 111 cases of gun misuse by police against civilians, 963 arbitrary arrests. Colombian NGOs, Temblores and IndePaz, reported to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, about the systematic violation of the American convention and the jurisprudential regarding the use of public force against civil society in Colombia in the framework of the protests.

How is this violence in Colombia related to nature?

Since the beginning of the demonstrations, Indigenous people have been participating and raising demands related to the environment. Diana Jembuel, an Indigenous journalist from the Misak people, explained in an interview that “Besides the refusal of the tax and health reform, there is another critical issue: the return of aerial spraying with glyphosate, which impacts crops, land, water resources, and people’s health; in addition to the murder of indigenous leaders.” (4).

Well, Colombia is listed as one of the mega-biodiverse countries in the world (World Conservation Monitoring Centre list). Simultaneously, according to Global Witness, it is the country with the most environmental and land defenders killed in the world, 30% of documented killings globally were in Colombia in 2019 (5). This violence is even more intense for Indigenous people, and half of land and environmental defenders assassinated in Colombia were Indigenous.

It is essential to highlight that Indigenous people have always played an important role in the mobilization for human rights, life, land, nature and peace. It is no different in the protests that are happening now - the Indigenous Minga are participating, even though in Cali they were attacked by armed civilians and at least 9 Indigenous people were injured. Minga or minka is a word from the Quechua language that means “gathering of diverse actors, knowledge and tools in search of a common goal”. It is an Indigenous and pre-Columbian institution that shows an important value of community and resistance.

The aggressions that Indigenous people have been suffering in Colombia is a consequence of the colonization that started in the country many years ago and continues today as racism and classism against Indigenous and Black people. According to Mauricio Archila, a Colombian historian, this is an effect of the lack of policies and participation of Indigenous and Black people in the decision-making process (6).

Another measure of the Colombian government that could aggravate even more the social and environmental situation in Colombia is fracking. The national government is investing in the extraction of oil, gas and coal, and this can lead to soil, water and food pollution. Anti-fracking protestors also faced repression in the region of Medio Magdalena, where the Colombian government has a pilot fracking project (7).

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Colombia has yet to ratify the Escazú Agreement that could help with the guarantee of environmental transparency and the protection of human rights, environmental and land defenders, Indigenous and non-Indigenous alike.

What we can do

We, as Youth4Nature, stand with the people in Colombia fighting for justice, equality, health and nature. The future we want demands justice and equity for all.