Organizers in Portland held a rally over the weekend to show solidarity with demonstrators in Colombia, where a nationwide strike against proposals introduced by a right-wing government has been met with a brutal crackdown by the state.
“We as Colombians living abroad want to tell the world what is happening,” event organizer Rita Welch told the crowd of 30 to 40 participants, who marched Saturday from Lincoln Park to Monument Square.
The most recent round of demonstrations in Colombia began in late April as a protest against a tax plan that the government later withdrew after significant pressure, with critics arguing that the plan would have been a boon for the wealthy at the expense of the middle class and those in poverty. An estimated 2.5 million Colombians slipped out of the middle class in 2020 amid the global pandemic, and more than half of the county’s population now lives in poverty, prompting a renewed call for policies that address inequality in the country.
However, as Common Dreams reported, protesters’ demands go beyond the tax plan. Demonstrators said the current movement is connected to strikes in 2019 and 2020 against austerity. “The government must also begin to address the agenda it presented in 2019,” labor leader Javier Bermúdez told the Colombian newspaper El Espectador. “This is a continuation of that strike.”
The protests have been met with violence, with dozens of people killed at the hands of state police forces and hundreds injured or arrested as tens of thousands of demonstrators decry the right-wing government of President Iván Duque. As reported by the group Progressive International, since taking office, “Duque’s regime has been responsible for the targeted killings of scores of Indigenous, Black, social movement, union, and peasant leaders in hundreds of massacres around the country.”
A speaker at the Portland rally Saturday | Photo by Stacey Tran
“What is happening in Colombia keeps me up at night,” Welch, who was born in Colombia and now lives in Portland, said in a speech written for Saturday’s march. “I think of those mothers who will not hug their children anymore, [the] blood spilled for wanting a better future, and a government that does not stop oppressing its people. I think of my children. I think of my family back in Colombia.”
A participant in the Portland rally holds up a sign | Photo by Stacey Tran
At the rally, Welch and other demonstrators called on the Colombian government to respect life, democracy and the right to protest freely.
In an interview Monday, Welch said the purpose of the rally was to raise awareness and speak up about the situation in Colombia. But the rally also served as a way to build connections among local community members, Welch said, explaining that it was comforting to see people in Maine — Colombian and otherwise — who care about events happening around the world.
“I think it’s really important to raise attention for these issues in places like Maine, where you might think it’s a really homogeneous state or you might feel like you’re alone — just trying to speak up and find people who are really passionate and really interested about this topic,” Welch said.
Welch, who has lived in Maine for about a year, said coming to a new place during the pandemic has been very isolating. However, after the rally, Welch said she’s confident there’s a community of local people who are engaged with the same issues she’s focused on.
“I’m not alone here, and I can create great connections here with people who are really passionate and really care about social justice,” she said.
Top photo: People in Portland rally Saturday in solidarity with demonstrators in Colombia | Photo by Stacey Tran
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