General strike as thousands protest Colombia's government

Tens of thousands of Colombians took to the streets of the capital Bogota yesterday amid a general strike to protest the policies of President Ivan Duque's right-wing government.

 

Several clashes and arrests were reported as trade unions, students, opposition parties and the South American country's indigenous organisations challenged the full gamut of Duque's economic, social and security policies.

The popularity of Duque's right-wing government, a key US ally, has been



on the wane since his election 18 months ago, as it deals with hosting 1.4 million refugees from neighbouring Venezuela's economic meltdown as well as the complex fallout of a 2016 peace deal with FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) rebels and rampant drug trafficking.

The protest comes amid social upheaval across South America, as a wave of unrest over the past two months has battered governments in Chile, Bolivia and Ecuador.