National Strike Against Tax Reform
On April 28, 2021, Colombians launched a national strike (Paro Nacional) against President Iván Duque’s proposed tax reform raising costs for middle and working classes during the pandemic. The protests evolved into two months of sustained demonstrations demanding healthcare, education, police reform, and addressing Colombia’s profound inequality—met with police violence that killed at least 83 and blinded dozens with tear gas projectiles.
Tax Reform Amid Pandemic Hardship
Duque’s tax proposal would have lowered the income tax threshold, added VAT to essential items, and eliminated exemptions—effectively taxing Colombia’s struggling middle class while corporations and wealthy avoided significant burdens. With 42% poverty rate (pandemic spike), 21% unemployment, and inadequate pandemic aid, the reform sparked fury.
Labor unions, student organizations, and indigenous groups called for April 28 national strike. Hundreds of thousands marched in Bogotá, Cali, Medellín, and smaller cities. Within days, Duque withdrew the tax proposal and his finance minister resigned, but protesters continued with expanded demands: healthcare reform, basic income, education funding, and police accountability.
Cali Bloodshed and ESMAD Violence
Cali became the uprising’s epicenter—Afro-Colombian and working-class neighborhoods maintained roadblocks for weeks. The Mobile Anti-Disturbance Squadron (ESMAD)—Colombia’s riot police notorious for brutality—deployed tear gas, stun grenades, and live ammunition.
Human rights organizations documented horrific abuses: 83+ killed (government claimed 42), over 2,000 injured, 28 victims of police sexual violence, dozens blinded by teargas canister impacts to faces, and hundreds disappeared. Videos of police shooting unarmed protesters went viral globally.
On May 3, armed civilians shot into protesters in Cali with police standing by—killing at least 13. Evidence suggested collusion between security forces, far-right paramilitaries, and criminal groups to terrorize demonstrators. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights investigated, condemning “excessive force.”
#SOSColombia and International Pressure
#SOSColombia trended globally as diaspora Colombians and international activists amplified violence footage. Reggaeton stars J Balvin and Karol G, alongside global celebrities, demanded accountability. The Colombian government initially dismissed abuses as “fake news” and “vandalism justification.”
Internet disruptions and targeted harassment of journalists aimed to suppress documentation, but protesters used VPNs and encrypted messaging to organize. The decentralized “first line” (primera línea) youth—wearing makeshift shields and gas masks—became iconic symbols of resistance.
Aftermath and Unfinished Demands
By July 2021, protests waned due to exhaustion, repression, and economic needs forcing people back to work. Duque’s administration survived but was deeply discredited—setting stage for leftist Gustavo Petro’s 2022 presidential victory on reform promises addressing protest demands.
Investigations into police violence produced minimal accountability—a few low-level officers charged but no senior officials. ESMAD remained unreformed. Victims’ families formed collectives demanding justice, but impunity persisted.
The 2021 Paro Nacional demonstrated Colombian society’s rejection of neoliberal austerity and police state tactics, but also revealed entrenched establishment resistance to structural change and security forces’ willingness to kill to maintain order.
Sources:
The Guardian, Al Jazeera, BBC Mundo, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, Temblores NGO, Washington Office on Latin America