Colombians to protest FTA on May Day
Prensa Latina, Cuba
Colombians to Protest FTA on May Day
30 April 2007
Bogota, Apr 30 (Prensa Latina) Rejection of the approval of the free trade agreement with the US will be a main motivation for Colombians to celebrate the International Worker’s Day.
On May 1st they will also protest cuts in education and health expenses and privatization of state businesses, mainly ECOPETROL, and they will plead for a political solution to internal armed conflict, Voz weekly announced.
The marches were convened by the Workers Unitary Central Union, the country’s largest, as well as other labor unions and social groups in main departmental cities.
Bogota residents are expected to march along the 7th Road, downtown, to the Bolivar Square, where union leaders will set forth the Colombian workers’ demands.
This year, the protests are also characterized by strong rejection of the links between government officials and paramilitary forces, known as the parapolitics scandal, so that truth and justice can prevail, according to organizers.
Mobilizations on Tuesday will allow measuring of the social movement forces ahead of protests announced by high school and university students and professors, union leaders say.
These marches will also contribute to improved organization, ahead of a national strike convened for May 23 against neoliberal policy of the Alvaro Uribe’s government.
