Santiago de Cali and the main cities of Colombia join the demonstrations called ‘The March of the Majority’ on June 20.
Citizens and political sectors of the opposition to the government of President Gustavo Petro will integrate this day of mobilizations, which takes place two weeks after the marches in favor of the administration of the current president and the package of social reforms presented in March.
“The march that we are calling for this Tuesday, June 20, is from a group of citizens who are asking the government to listen to us. We are adding our voices by going to the streets to express our concern about the direction the country is taking; especially in security, to ask the government to guarantee our lives,” said Gustavo Orozco, spokesman for the march in Cali.
“Especially in regions like the Valley and Cali, where we deserve to live in peace. This is not a call to overthrow the president or a soft coup as some suppose, and neither is it exclusive to one political sector; here we join citizens to ask that our voices also be heard and that the decisions of the Government correspond to the general well-being of absolutely all Colombians ”, he added.
Why do these demonstrations occur?
1. The reform package of the current government (pension, labor and health) that is being debated in the Congress of the Republic is one of the main reasons.
2. The controversy that revolves around the case of the former chief of staff of Petro, Laura Sarabia and the former ambassador of the country in Venezuela, Armando Benedetti, who made statements about the financing of the presidential campaign of the current president in the Caribbean region.
3. They will be in support of government institutions such as the Prosecutor’s Office, the Attorney General’s Office, the Public Force and the Courts.
4. They will mobilize in support of press freedom, as well as to criticize insecurity in various regions of the national territory.
What is the route?
– In Bogotá, the concentration is scheduled at 9:00 am in the National Park. From there the protesters will leave until they reach the Plaza de Bolívar.
– In Cali, the March of the Majority will begin at 10:00 a.m. in the Parque de las Banderas, near the Pascual Guerrero stadium, San Fernando neighborhood; and it will go to the Jairo Varela Square.
– In the capital of Antioquia, the mobilization will begin at 10:00 am at the Oriental point with Playa and will end in the La Alpujarra sector.
– Barranquilla: from the Joe Arroyo monument to Paseo Bolívar.
– Cartagena de Indias: from the Camellón de los Mártires to the Clock Tower.
– Bucaramanga: from Puerta del Sol to the Luis Carlos Galán square.
– Cúcuta: from Ventura Plaza to Santander Park.
– Santa Marta: from the Rodrigo de Bastidas monument to the Cathedral.
– Montería: from the María Varilla square to the Simón Bolívar park.
– Valledupar: from Cinco Esquinas to Parque de las Madres.
– Villavicencio: from the Viva shopping center to the Los Libertadores park.
– Popayán: from the Campanario shopping center, go to the Caldas park.
Concentrations were scheduled for 9:00 a.m.
The senator of the Democratic Center, Paloma Valencia, mentioned that “we are calling on all Colombian citizens to join us this June 20 so that we can tell President Petro that enough of governments that destroy.”
The former presidential candidate and former mayor of Medellín, Federico Gutiérrez, for his part, stated that he will participate in the marches in the capital of Antioquia.
“I join the citizen march on June 20. I will march because I am concerned about our country, I am concerned about the institutional crisis in which we are immersed, the attacks on the press, the lack of confidence and transparency in the current government, “said ‘Fico’ on his Twitter account.