Colombia Politics is in Belen, Risaralda, the front line of Colombia’s coffee protests. It’s sweltering hot, there are campesinos, workers, farm owners and family members who have camped out on the roads for the last three days. They are tired, but in good spirits. The first day saw skirmishes as rocks were thrown at the police and tear gas was fired back. Since then it has been calm, but emotions continue to run high.
The government accuses the FARC of infiltrating the protests, but the faces I have seen here are of the humble, hardworking country folk who feel their livelihoods are at threat.
The price coffee farmers receive from the Coffee Federation – the coop – is causing farms to run at significant losses, losses that are leading this vital industry to ruin. Those I have spoken to tell me they are weeks away from closing down, packing up – from going broke.
The villages in this lush and verdant part of Colombia depend on coffee for their survival. It is the life blood that has sustained this part of the countryside. Anserma, where I retreat to in the evenings has been closed in support of the protests. They argue there is no point in opening their shops as if the protests have no effect there will be, within a short space of time, no one with the money to buy their products.
Employment is reliant on the producing coffee farms. If they close, what will they do?
The government has so far dug in its heals. But it is being forced on to the back foot. An announcement this morning suggests Santos is willing to negotiate, or that he feels he has no alternative. He is right. The transport unions at five o clock today will decide whether to join in, in solidarity with the farmers. That would close down much of the country. Something Santos cannot allow to happen.
Public opinion seems to be siding with the protestors, and the political winds are turning against the president.
The protestors are clear. We’re here for the long haul.
Colombia Politics will report in more detail once out of the protests. We have videos and interviews that the national press have so far not reported on.
Back to the front line we go, sun block and camera in hand.