Colombia: the revolt of young people without a future

Dieciocho (Dix-huit) a 18 ans.He has been custody since the very beginning of the demonstrations on April 28, ensuring the surveillance of the barricades during the night.Like all the young people we have talked about, he does not want to give his name or show his face to the camera.The fear of the police is too strong.

Dieciocho fait partie de la première ligne, ceux qui affrontent les policiers et défendent les barrages improvisés pendant les semaines de grève nationale.If he's there, it's for his 5 and 3-year-old daughters, he explains. Ce sont elles qui me motivent, je veux qu’elles aient les possibilités que je n’ai pas eues.

Des possibilités, c’est le terme qui revient constamment dans la bouche de ces jeunes, majoritairement issus des couches les plus pauvres de la société colombienne.The possibility of studying at an affordable cost, rather than having to leave school at the end of the 5th year, like Diecicho, but also to work, in this country where one in four young people is unemployed.

Nous n’avons pas d'occasion de travailler, étudier ou créer une entreprise, résume Andrés, 25 ans.Strongly involved in the barricade of the Melendez sector, south of the city (dismantled since May 30), he had a knit to leave with the police on several occasions.

Member, too, of the first line, he distanced himself after three weeks, fearing the reprisals of the police.

Andrés, père d’une petite fille de 3 ans, a abandonné son emploi pour se consacrer à temps plein aux manifestations. Sa priorité : améliorer la qualité de l'éducation publique.Photo : Gracieuseté : Andrés C.

I'm afraid of the persecution that could come after, explains Andrés.Now they are busy monitoring us and taking information, but when everything is calmed, they will go and get the leaders.So I decided to keep myself quiet for a moment.

It was to protect himself that he covered his face when he was on the guard at the barricades.He changed clothes several times a day to try to thwart those who watched him.

This fear of judicialization is present in all those to whom we have spoken, whether they are members of the first line or simply sympathizers.

They accuse us of terrorism, weapon of weapons, attempted homicide, of being part of an association of criminals, supports Enzo Alvarez, 30, of the Collective Convergencia Por La Paz (Convergence for Peace).I feel that we are followed, that we are listening.

Enzo Alvarez, de Convergencia por la paz, est heureux de constater que les jeunes sont de plus en plus concernés par la politique.Photo : Radio-Canada / Ximena Sampson

The police began to bring charges against teachers, journalists, lawyers, says Armando, 30, lecturer at the Universidad del Valle.They arrive with people, take off their computer and phone.They say: "You were blocking, you press the rioters, you are a terrorist too."It was long to go to the point where I am today, I don't want to lose everything.

It was at Cali at the Puerto Resistencia blocking point (port resistance), a large area south-east of the city that we met these young.At the height of the crisis, around twenty blocking points were erected in this city of 2.2 million inhabitants, preventing the passage of vehicles and goods.The magnitude of the movement caused serious headaches to residents and merchants, who have undergone shortages of petrol and food, among others, as well as an increase in prices.

Over the days and weeks, all blockages have been dismantled, by force or negotiation, but dissatisfaction remains.

The barricades are supported by a multitude of actors: the first line defends the point against the assault of the police, the second takes care of obtaining food, which is often prepared by the women of the neighborhood,the third takes care of the care for the injured, and the fourth is responsible for the communication.

Affrontement entre la police et les jeunes à Melendez, Cali. Les ONG ont documenté quelque 1700 cas de violence policière.Photo : Gracieuseté : Andrés C.

Glaring inequalities

Pourquoi continuer à courir ce risque? La cause est juste, soutient Andrés.

Colombia is the seventh most unequal country in the world and the worst in Latin America: 1 % of the population has 40 % of wealth there.

As elsewhere in the world, inequalities have further aggravated during the pandemic, which led to major declines for the most disadvantaged.In Cali, the unemployment rate increased from 12 % to 20 % between 2019 and 2020.Poverty has increased, so that more than 60 % of the inhabitants of the city are now considered poor or very vulnerable.

Colombie : la révolte des jeunes sans avenir

In the poorest districts, where most of the inhabitants are self -employed workers without any social net, confinement measures have hurt very much.

According to the Institute of Statistics, 68 % of young Colombians (10 to 24 years) believe that their situation has deteriorated during the past year.Many young people say they have never eaten as well as in the context of community meals prepared for dams.

Colombia is a young country: 22 % of the population is between 14 and 26 years old.A third of them are neither students nor workers.

This hardly surprises Maya, a university student aged 30, and a resident of the district where the blockage was installed.

Maya, de Convergencia por la paz, et El Indio, un des jeunes de la première ligne, devant la brigade de Puerto Resistencia, le 23 juin 2021. « Cali ne sera plus jamais la même », affirme Maya.Photo : Ximena Sampson

When his father lost his job a few years ago, his family was hungry for the first time, as well as water and electricity cuts.It had a deep impact on the young woman.

The neighborhood I live is extremely violent, says Maya.There are displaced populations, Afro-Colombians and Aboriginals.There is a lot of machismo, domestic violence.Young people who do not have a job dragging on the streets, fall under the thumb of the local thugs, who make them sell drugs and provide them with weapons.By becoming aware of all this, I got involved in the artistic activities of the neighborhood, while giving them a political turn.

Cali has received strong migrations from the Pacific coast and the south of the country, confirms the sociologist AlbertoValencia, professor at the Universidad del Valle.These are people displaced by the conflict with guerrilla warfare and paramilitaries, who have not found a formal job in the city and survive as they can.Children and grandchildren of these displaced people are today in the streets and demand opportunities.

It is first in reaction to the tax reform proposed by President Ivan Duque in full pandemic that they released en masse on April 28 and the following days, at the call of the Del Paro committee (strike committee), like Colombians around the country.

But popular dissatisfaction is much deeper.This is why the withdrawal of this reform did not calm the anger.

A disconnected government

The government is completely disconnected from the population, maintains M.Valencia.Ivan Duque was elected in 2018, not thanks to his personal merit, but rather because he is the dolphin of ex-president Alvaro Uibe, the one who waged the fight against guerrilla warfare.

Irreversible social processes are running in Colombia, says the researcher, but Duque does not care to align his government with these new circumstances.

Après la signature des accords de paix, en 2016, et même si la violence n’a pas complètement disparu, la sécurité n’est plus la priorité des Colombiens, pense AlbertoValencia.People now want to have access to education, jobs and health, but the government remains deaf in the face of these requests.

The disapproval of the Government of Ivan Duque reaches heights.According to an Invamer survey of May 2021, 76 % of Colombians disapproved of its management of the country.

The government has given us nothing with regard to the possibilities of working or studying, maintains Enzo Alvarez.

Faced with popular discontent, the government's response was repression. Ils donnent une réponse militaire à des manifestations sociales, estime Maya.

À plusieurs reprises, le président Duque a tenté d’enlever de la légitimité aux manifestants, qualifiant les actes de vandalisme de terrorisme urbain de basse intensité et affirmant que le mouvement de protestation était infiltré par une organisation criminelle cherchant à déstabiliser la société.

La statue est devenue le symbole des manifestations. On voit sur les boucliers les noms de jeunes morts dans des incidents controversés impliquant des policiers.Photo : Radio-Canada / Ximena Sampson

A catastrophic assessment

The NGO TEMBLORES and the Institut Indiapaz report 75 dead during demonstrations, including 44 assassinations attributed to the police, 29 others in analysis, 228 injured by firearm and more than 1,800 arbitrary arrests.There are some 300 missing.Among the police, two police officers were killed and 1477 were injured.

Following denunciations, the police opened disciplinary surveys on several cases of violence.The president also announced upcoming reforms to the Ministry of Defense and within the police.

The Inter -American Commission for Human Rights has sent a delegation to investigate violence.The UN, the United States and the European Union, among others, denounced the excesses committed by the police.

On the sidelines of the demonstrations, more than 4,000 incidents have been reported, including the fire of vehicles and public transport bus, the vandalism of banks, businesses and police stations, as well as the destruction of traffic lights andradar cameras.Nearly 3000 roads have been blocked all over the country.The government estimates the costs of demonstrations at 3.7 billion dollars.

Le barrage de Puerto Resistencia a été érigé le 28 avril et démantelé le 26 juin à 4 heures du matin lors d'une intervention impliquant plus d'un millier de policiers et soldats ainsi que deux hélicoptères.Photo : Radio-Canada / Ximena Sampson

A country in boil

If some young people are only armed with their courage and shields, others are much more equipped, recognize the people we have spoken.

Nous sommes en Colombie, il y a des bandits partout, souligne Armando, qui déplore un changement du profil des manifestants au cours des dernières semaines. Les plus forts, qui sont souvent liés au crime organisé, ont pris le contrôle des barrages.

In Colombia, military service is compulsory.Consequently, many young people have received training in the handling of weapons and combat techniques, he also recalls.

Carlos rêve d'être joueur de soccer professionnel. Entre-temps, il assure la première ligne à Puerto Resistencia.Photo : Radio-Canada / Ximena Sampson

Is guerrilla warfare involved in revolt, as the government suggests?If she surely tried to take advantage of the disorder, she is not the origin, according to the researchers, of which M.Valencia.

The government does not understand the heterogeneity of the movement, he says.Yes, Farc dissidents are present, as are mafia and delinquents, but there are also ordinary people from neighborhoods, as well as a quantity of young people ... There are all kinds of people.

C’est l’opportunité que les groupes illégaux, tant de gauche comme de droite, attendaient, pour tenter de canaliser cette force populaire pour leur compte, renchérit Armando, qui s’inquiète du fait que le gouvernement saisisse ce prétexte pour enlever toute légitimité aux manifestants.

He fears that these confrontations will foreshadow a relocation of the Colombian armed conflict inside the cities, which had so far been rather spared. On est en train de déplacer la guerre dans la ville, soutient-il.

La station de police de Puerto Rellena a été transformée en bibliothèque.
Les femmes jouent un rôle crucial dans la mobilisation.
Certaines sont des combattantes de première ligne, d'autres s'occupent de l'aide aux blessés ou de l'approvisionnement.
«Ouvre une fenêtre pour que la vérité sorte à la lumière.»
Des dons ont permis de garnir les étagères de la bibliothèque.
«On dit que la patrie c'est un fusil et un drapeau, la patrie ce sont mes frères et soeurs qui labourent la terre. »
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La station de police de Puerto Rellena a été transformée en bibliothèque.Photo : Radio-Canada / Ximena Sampson

See you in 2022

If the dams have been lifted, sporadic clashes continue with the police.The demonstrators promised to maintain the pressure until they are listened to.New steps are scheduled for July.

We have temporarily ended the blockages, but we do not reject them, declares in a video the spokesperson for one of the resistance points.We are preparing to go out again with more strength.

The strike does not stop, but it turns into a permanent assembly, explains Maya, of Convergencia por la paz.We will continue to resist with artistic and cultural events, as well as with community meals.We want to stay in dialogue with the community.

Before, people did not believe us when we criticized the police and they defended the police, says Andrés.Now that they have seen how they struck us, was attached and shot us with real bullets, they open their doors to us to take refuge.

Il sera toutefois difficile pour le gouvernement de répondre à ce malaise confus, note AlbertoValencia. Il n’y a pas d’interlocuteur précis avec qui négocier.There are indeed the demands of the strike committee, but it does not control the entire mobilization.

The sociologist fears a polarization of the company, with sectors of the middle and high class which demand a stronger presence of the authorities, thus resulting in a return in force of the right to the elections of 2022.

Chargement de l’image
Maya est très fière de la solidarité qui s’est créée autour des points de résistance, comme ici, à Puerto Resistencia. « Les jeunes me disaient : "C’est comme une famille, ici", raconte-t-elle. Les gens travaillent main dans la main. »Photo : Gracieuseté : Maya/Convergencia por la paz

Young people fear this resurgence of the democratic center, the party of.Duque, and they prepare to face it.

Il y a un mécontentement général qu’on n’avait jamais vu auparavant, dit Enzo Alvarez.

It is necessary to remove political power [to current leaders] so that they are forced to initiate the dialogue, he continues.If they lose power, they will be forced to start dialogue with us, otherwise they will try to manipulate us.

He wants dissatisfaction to result in a vote against the far right of Alvaro Uibe and Ivan Duque.

Only 56 % of young people (18-26 years) voted in 2018, 20 % less than other age groups.After this year's events, activists hope that they will be more numerous in the polls.

Il faut éduquer les gens pour qu’ils votent, et pour qu’ils votent bien, dit Andrés.Collectives and young academics have created a list of delegates who voted against laws favorable to young people. On identifie nos ennemis au sein du Congrès, ceux qui nous ont nié le droit à l’éducation, par exemple.Then we inform people.

En attendant 2022, le gouvernement risque de continuer à entendre parler d’eux, soutient El Indio, un des porte-parole de Puerto Resistencia. Il y a une Colombie qui est en train de se réveiller.All of this is just beginning.Cali, it's just the start.

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