Jordana Timerman does her normal great job of distilling LatAm news and events in the latest over at LADB, the big regional story this week being Colombia and its protests over the Duque government tax plans, which have spiralled way out of control. Here’s an LADB excerpt:
“…the government’s forceful response has also made police brutality a central issue of the ongoing protests: The clashes over the past eight days have left at least 24 people dead, most of them demonstrators, and at least 87 missing. Local NGO Temblores, which documents police abuse, estimates that 37 have been killed.“
And…
“…demonstrators breached protective barriers around the nation’s Congress, attacking the building before being repelled by the police. Bogotá’s mayor said Tuesday that a mob tried to “burn alive” 10 police officers by setting fire to a small police station.”
More here. Colombia has accelerated to the level of violence that brings down S.Am governments and needs calm now. It’s also notable that the Colombia police response is a direct result of the well-advertised “hard line” policies of Duque, ones that he’s been proud of rolling out. As Keiko Fujimori in Peru is currently promoting the same hard line on her campaign trail, be careful what you wish for.