Thousands of protesters on cars and motorbikes took to the streets of Colombia’s main cities on Monday to reject recent hikes in gasoline prices that have drastically increased the price of fuel in the South American country.
Protesters say that the monthly price hikes set by Colombia’s first leftist government are making it harder for small businesses to operate, and could push up the price of food.
But the government of President Gustavo Petro says the gasoline subsidies cost about USD 11 billion a year. It says it must eliminate the subsidies to pay debts to the national oil company Ecopetrol, which produces most of the country’s fuel, and to free up more funds for social programmes. The protest comes as discontent grows with Petro’s administration a year after he took office promising to reduce poverty and make peace with the nation’s remaining rebel groups.
Petro’s administration has struggled to stop violence in rural parts of the country, and to boost Colombia’s economy, which is expected to grow by just 1 per cent in 2023, according to the International Monetary Fund.“This government is making decisions that are anti-business,” said Alejandra Mendoza, the manager of a small company that transports frozen food and other goods for supermarkets in Colombia.
She attended Monday’s protest wearing her company’s yellow jacket.
“Our costs have gone up by a third, and we have to adjust our budget each month because of the gasoline hikes,” Mendoza said.
The price of gasoline in Colombia has risen from 9,000 pesos a gallon in August of last year (USD 2.50) to more than 14,000 currently (USD 3.40) as Colombia’s government cuts back on subsidies each month.