Colombia protests one month in: 45 dead and dozens disappeared | DW News

Colombia is marking one month since a wave of deadly protests began. They started as an outcry against a controversial tax reform but soon turned into a national uprising against growing poverty and inequality. Weeks of negotiations to end the unrest have failed to bear fruit. And the prospect of a peaceful solution seemed to slip even further on Friday, when President Ivan Duque announced he was deploying the military after more people died in demonstrations.

Plumes of smoke tower above the city of Popayan - like monuments to the resistance.

A month of protests has turned streets across the country into smoldering battle-scars from what they see as their fight for justice.

The protests erupted when President Ivan Duque sought to raise taxes to pay for the pandemic. The blowback forced him to kill the bill. But the outcry continued - in outrage over the government's handling of a crisis that's seen unemployment double and inequality surge.

Attempts to broker an end to the standoff have so far proven futile.

According to official figures, more than 45 people have been killed, dozens more disappeared and thousands on both sides wounded. But human rights groups say the real toll is likely much higher.

And it's only likely to get worse in the days ahead.

On Friday, President Iván Duque said he's deploying the army to epicenter of the unrest: Cali, where at least three people were killed in the last 24 hours.

Meeting with Colombian Vice President and Foreign Minister Marta Lucia Ramirez on Friday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressed his concern over the deepening crisis in the country - backing the peoples' right to protest peacefully.

For now, though, the deadly cat-and-mouse game on the streets of Colombia continues.

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