Regresar

National Strike in Colombia 2019–2020: Between “Rumba”, Protest and Cohesion

Abstract:

This article aims to analyze and describe the national strike in Colombia that took place between November 21st, 2019 and the first weeks of February 2020, taking into account the causes, actors and consequences of these social protests. The national strike “for life and peace” had reasons of an eminently social nature; having as main actors the urban youth of the middle class and trade unions, who demanded improvements in labor and tax reforms; as well as, better quality education and the rejection of corruption, especially due to the regional scandal caused by the company Odebrecht. Tens of thousands of protesters were able to express their common needs through batucadas, while groups of infiltrators looted and vandalized, actions that were repressed by public force. Finally, it could be said that this episode in Colombian history allowed us to visualize the needs and rights of a national group, whose only stage were the streets of the main cities of Colombia.