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Myriad of Frustrations Draw Colombians Back onto Streets

Associated Press

   BOGOTA, COLOMBIA - Colombians unhappy with President Ivan Duque's
   response to nearly a week of boisterous protests over everything from
   job losses to shark hunting took to the streets again Wednesday in a
   continuing tide of unrest.

   The daily protests jolting the South American country proclaim a wide
   array of complaints but echo one refrain: an opposition to a government
   that many believe only looks after the most privileged citizens.

   "We feel defenseless to everything," Lucy Rosales, 60, a pensioner in
   Bogota. "We don't feel like we have a voice that represents us. It's
   many things that they allowed to accumulate."

   Several thousand people blew whistles and waving their nation's flag as
   they marched through the streets of the capital around mid-afternoon,
   while indigenous activists blocked part of a major highway in southwest
   Colombia.

   The new demonstration came a day after Duque's attempt to quell the
   discontent by holding talks with a protest steering group hit a snag:
   Members of the National Strike Committee refused to join broader talks
   the president has called with all social sectors, fearing their demands
   would be diluted.

   "The government has not been able to learn from the Chilean and
   Ecuadorian experiences," said Jorge Restrepo, an economics professor,
   referring to recent mass demonstrations in both of those countries. "It
   has made very many mistakes."

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