Rural Colombia takes to streets; Santos threatens crackdown
Colombia`s farmers, miners, and truckers hope to bring the country to a standstill tomorrow as a national strike begins amid government warnings of a crackdown on protesters.
Interior Minister Fernando Carrillo, has threatened jail for those who cause civil disorder, while President Santos has deployed elite police troops along key transport routes promising hardline treatment should road blocks take hold.
The government is eager to avoid a repeat of February`s coffee growers strike which paralyzed the country for nearly two weeks as key public highways were closed to all traffic.
Organizers have been quick to reply that this time they are not planning blockades, but instead a series of “go-slow” marches. The Casa de Nariño though, is concerned the situation will escalate and is determined not be to be caught on the back foot as it was earlier in the year.
Meanwhile, Santos has made clear he will not negotiate while strikes are ongoing; a statement lampooned by Dignidad Cafetero and other organizers who point out the president has known the date of the protest for over a month and has refused to enter into talks throughout that period.
What will happen?
It is unclear how events will unfold tomorrow. Predicting the outcome would be foolish, but the scenario is set for a potentially lengthy stand-off between the government and rural Colombia.
Colombia Politics has spoken to a variety of sources close to the coffee farmers who express real anger at what they see as a series of broken government promises. They confirm the fear that events will turn violent given the government`s tough talking. Farming communities are said to be at breaking point and some have spoken of a perfect storm, with the infiltration of FARC guerrillas in certain areas. A violent outcome is not, however, a foregone conclusion.
When I reported from the front line of the February protests I was struck by the friendly, and familial – even carnival – feel. Those I met were humble folk, in many cases desperate for the government to take notice of their plight. The hope is this community spirit sustains.
Who is set to go on strike?
As early as June serious talk grew of coffee growers returning to the streets. Farmers complain of undelivered subsidies, falling (and manipulated) prices, and of no change in a coffee federation that acts against their interests.
This time however, the strike is not restricted to those who cultivate Colombia´s emblematic crop, but brings together the majority of the nation’s rural economy.
On July 4 ”Paperos” potato farmers, “lecheros” milk famers, “paneleros” panela famers, “camioneros” truckers, “arroceros” rice farmers, and others met in Armenia to agree to join the marches.
In the capital Bogotá, education and health workers will also march on the “capitolio”, the country´s political epicentre.
Political cost for Santos
Tomorrow`s protests arrive on the back of civil unrest in the poor and isolated region of El Catatumbo. President Santos was heavily criticized for a slow and inadequate response to a peasants`revolt that raged for six weeks without end. Critics draw comparisons to the February coffee strike which the Santos administration was also said to have badly mishandled.
Santos`popularity took a noise dive after these protests and has yet to recover. The commander-in-chief cannot afford to lose control of the situation tomorrow as to do so would surely hammer a nail in the coffin of his re-election chances.
A leader who is seen to have lost the majority of rural Colombia, a leader who is seen as weak and unable to resolve internal crises is not a leader who will win an election.
If the strike turns violent, or is prolonged, if the government is unable to remain in control of events President Santos`fall in support could well become irreversible.
It is little surprise, then that the Casa de Nariño is preparing for the worst, sending over 16,000 police to patrol the likely pinch points on Colombia`s transport infrastructure.
The war of words has already begun.
We expect the media to present the multitude of strikers as disparate and divided, of being infiltrated by the FARC and of promoting violence. How true this line is we will have to wait and see.
Last time the nation was brought to a standstill the Colombian media – with the possible exception of Caracol – failed to report from behind the blockades. The voices of the coffee farmers were virtually silenced.
The success or otherwise of those that take to the streets tomorrow will depend in part on how agile they are in communicating their case through a media often disinclined to give them a fair hearing.
