On February 14 and 15, a series of marches and sit-ins will take place in which citizens will demonstrate, some in favor and others against, the reforms proposed by President Gustavo Petro.
Although the National Police has already announced that it would have 30,000 uniformed officers throughout the country to maintain security during these events, the tension has been felt among citizens since the beginning of the week.
In Medellín, especially in the downtown area of the city, where demonstrations usually take place, merchants have been particularly affected since people prefer to avoid going near the sector.
This is confirmed by Oscar Gómez, owner of Perfumed in the El Hueco sector. “During these days, for all the emails that are on WhatsApp and by other means about the protests that are going to be in the center of the city, in my perfumery, and in the other businesses that are nearby, sales have dropped by approximately 30%, since people are afraid to come downtown because of the protests. The last time it was too hard, both buyers and traders are a little scared and we hope that this will not happen to majors”.
Complaints about the reduction in sales due to the announcement of the protests are felt throughout the territory.
“The loneliness is impressive, it cannot be only today the economic situation, it is the fear of the people that they have for the marches. The decrease in the volume of sales is incredible, at least 70%”, explains Adriana Vélez, from the Carbonara restaurant, who shows the solitude of the tables at the beginning of the week.
And although the demonstrations that have been called are peaceful, precedents such as the National Strike marches of 2019 and early 2020, where premises of all kinds were destroyed, predispose vendors and visitors.
“You really can’t feel safe when you open the store, today, Monday, sales dropped by almost half and it’s because after the previous strike, anyone is afraid to come downtown if they announce demonstrations. It is a huge problem for us merchants”, concludes Ramón Viera, owner of a cell phone store in the Guayaquil sector.
It may also interest you: Marches and sit-ins this February 13, 14 and 15 throughout the country