MEXICO CITY (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 27th November, 2019) Leaders of trade unions and social movements in Colombia stopped on Tuesday the negotiating process with the country's President Ivan Duque and called for the resumption of protests against the government's economic and social policies.
Earlier in the day, the president wrote on Twitter that meetings with the representatives of the National Strike Committee was the acceptable format for the government to hear the demonstrators' demands.
"Tomorrow, on November 27, we will hold another nationwide strike to call on the government of Duque to start negotiations and avoid what happened today when the organizers of the protest were actually pointed to the door," head of the Central Union of Workers Elias Fonseca said in an interview to the Colombian Impacto TDN broadcaster.
The Tuesday meeting was held as a part of the so-called "national dialogue" launched by the president on Sunday to include citizens in developing different programs that would meet social demands and addressing such issues as corruption and inequality.
The nationwide protests, which were initially planned to be a student rally, erupted last week in the country. The political opposition announced plans to hold a general strike that same day. Fearing that Colombia might follow the scenarios that pushed several other Latin American countries into havoc recently, the incumbent government took certain preemptive measures.
Duque has signed a decree authorizing local governments to use emergency means for ensuring order and safety during the protests, up to banning the possession of firearms, prohibiting the consumption and sale of alcohol, and imposing a curfew. Colombian army and police have also been tasked with preparing security operations.
