Agricultural protest in Colombia arrives to the cities

Thousands of people marched yesterday in the main cities of Colombia, to support small farmers, who have eleven days asking for economic aid.

Workers, students, teachers and health w
orkers marched in Bogota until the central square of Bolívar, in the middle of a demonstration which ended in violent clashes between demonstrators and the police.

Five people have perished since last August 19 when the farmer’s demonstrations started, which have blocked the main roads of the country, complicating  the arrival of food and other goods to the cities.

The demonstrations have been carried out  to demand economic aid, as well as the establishment of sustained prices for some agricultural products and discounts on the prices of fertilizers, pesticides and seeds, because farmers have been affected by several treaties of free trade (agreement FTA), with the United States, and the currency appreciation  (10% against the dollar in 2012), among other factors.

The measure has affected the trade between  Colombia and Ecuador on the northern border, in Carchi and vehicular traffic between the two countries.