Thousands march in southwest Colombia in support of farmers’ strikes
Thousands of indigenous people and farmers on Tuesday took to the streets in southwest Colombia in support of the ongoing farmer’s strikes. Protesters explicitly demonstrated against free trade agreements (FTA’s).
The FTA’s have been a cause for concern for many primary and secondary industrial sectors. In May, following the creation of an FTA with the US, Colombian imports from the US jumped 15% while exports from Colombia fell by 13%.
As many as 18,000 protesters, made up of peasant farmers and indigenous communities, marched peacefully through the city to Caldas Park in center of Popayan, Cauca.
The indigenous collective – the Association of Councils in Northern Cauca (ACIN) – told newspaper El Tiempo that “we believe that the national government has to give the farmers a solution, and take part in serious negotiations with all the sectors that are affected by unemployment.”
http://colombiareports.co/thousands-march-colombias-city-popayan/
