Colombia: Social Media Users Call for a New Year’s Eve “Cacerolazo”
This activity will be a protest against the tiny increase in the minimum wage proposed by the Colombian Government.
After weeks of much uncertainty in relation to what the minimum wage increase would be for 2020, on December 26, President Iván Duque gave the announcement that all Colombia was waiting for: the increase will be 6%.
In this way, the increase for next year will be 49,686 pesos, that is, the salary will be 877,802 pesos, with 102,853 pesos of transportation assistance.
“The we made the increase in the minimum wage thinking about Colombia, about the growth of our economy, of being able to continue bringing equity to the regions, ” Duque wrote on his Twitter account.
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#Cartagena Hemos decidido mantener el incremento nominal del salario mínimo en 6 por ciento para el 2020, tal como lo hicimos en el 2019. También un aumento del 6% para el auxilio de transporte, para un total de $980.657 pic.twitter.com/ZNFpuvvXpv
— Iván Duque (@IvanDuque) December 26, 2019
# Casserole31D
Now, this is not exactly the thought that is in the head of thousands of Colombians who have shown their nonconformity in the face of an increase they consider “little” and “unworthy.”
“An increase of 6%, a mockery by President Duque of the country, of the poor and an addition to the 10 trillion gift that the tax reform gave to the super rich. Total rejection, hugely ridiculous of the government and businessmen for 20 thousand pesos, not amounting to one million,” was the criticism made by Diogenes Orjuela, president of the Unitary Central of Workers of Colombia (CUT).
#MensajeCUT
Sobre el decreto unilateral del gobierno de Duque del Salario Mínimo https://t.co/NvhMRWH7nf— CUT Colombia (@cutcolombia) December 26, 2019
Consequently, dozens of people on social networks have called a ‘cacerolazo’ for next December 31 at midnight, in order to “receive 2020 showing rejection of the current government in our country.”
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“A cacerolazo on December 31, 2019, to receive 2020 with all possible noise, because they promised to lower taxes and an increase in the minimum responsible wage, and they did the opposite, justifying an indefinite National strike for Colombia,” said an Internet user on Twitter.
Hoy con mi familia, nos vamos a comprar cacerolas para el #Cacerolazo31D. Todos vamos a recibir el 2.020 con cacerola nueva y una recarga de energía para seguir luchando por un nuevo país. #ParoNacionalcolombia
— 🕊 Diana Acuña 💚💜 (@DianaAcunaDDHH) December 26, 2019
However, to encourage this social demonstration, several of the promoters cited the words of President Duque himself and Vice President Marta Lucía Ramírez, who called similar protests on the issue of minimum wage, during the two periods in which Juan Manuel Santos governed.
Que qué tan cohérentes son el Presidente y la Vicepresidenta de Colombia? Pues… #Cacerolazo31D pic.twitter.com/taZqkLmipl
— Cielo Rusinque Urrego 🔦🕊🍳 (@cielo_rusinque) December 26, 2019
“Martuchis is right, the cacerolazo is the voice of the people! So why not a #Cacerolazo31D to close the year? A cacerolazo that reflects our indignation for the cascade of taxes that awaits us in the new year, for the massacres, for the misgovernment, etc.”, is the sarcastic comment of one of the opponents of the current government.
¿Participarás del #Cacerolazo31D en #Colombia?
— Colombia.com (@ColombiacomTW) December 27, 2019
This demonstration is in addition to those held on November 21 and December 1, when thousands of Colombians peeked out of their windows and took to the streets to pound their pots against the policies of the Duque government in Colombia.
Featured image: Woman participates in a ‘cacerolazo’ against the Duque government in Colombia. Photo: Twitter / @jerojasrodrigue
Translated by JRE/EF
