Colombia in struggle

Colombian farmers protest against government’s ‘broken promises’
Thousands of Colombian farmers have been taking part in protests across the country to demand that the government comply with reforms agreed last year. Security has been reinforced in the main coffee, rice and potato producing areas. Protesting farmers say the government has failed to implement measures to reduce debt and control the prices of fertilisers. An agreement last August followed weeks of violent protests.
The Colombian government says the reforms are being introduced, but some of them are long-term measures. “It’s a national day of protests by farmers across Colombia,” Victor Correa, spokesman for the Dignidad Cafetero coffee growers’ protest movement, told Reuters. The authorities said a heavy police and army presence had prevented the protesters from setting up road blocks. But local media reported that roads had been blocked in Boyaca department and in the coffee-producing region of Huila.