Whether it was against President Gustavo Petro, or against the mayor of Medellín, Daniel Quintero Calle, or in the end against both, The marches this Monday in Medellín were massive and felt on their way through the city center.
The tour began at 10:15 am outside the Pablo Tobón Uribe theater and finished around 1:40 in the afternoon, that is to say, they were about three and a half hours of walking and launching harangues against Petro and Quintero.
The slogans that were heard the most in some parts of the route called for the departure of the local president with shouts of “Quintero out!”
An initial estimate by the organizers reported that they were nearly 10,000 attendees, that were added along the route until reaching La Alpujarra.
But in the end they spoke of up to 200,000 attendees. some were more cautious and said there were 35,000.
In any case, the streets through which the tour passed were full and affected vehicular traffic.
In the social networks, at the same time, another battle was waged with criticism of the dealers under the hashtag #YoNoParoYoProduzco, that supporters of the previous government used to disqualify the protests, some of which were characterized by vandalism.
In the march this Monday in the city, the harangues became louder as the protesters approached La Alpujarra. And although attendees wanted to enter the Plazoleta of the administrative center, the organizers prevented them since the idea was to settle in the Plaza de las Luces.
At the national level the objective was to reject the proposals of President Petro, such as the tax reform, which aims to raise $25 billion with a heavier burden on the large holders of wealth in the country according to the president; also against his policies on the issues of reforms to health, pensions and oil.
But in Medellín the focus was also placed, and even more than in Petro, on the management of Mayor Quintero and his cabinet, to the point that in the harangues they were heard to be called “The band of Los Alpujarros”.
Most of the marchers wore white or yellow jerseys of the soccer team, Colombian flags and umbrellas to ward off the heat that settled over the city throughout the tour.
Many elderly people were seen walk to express their nonconformity.
The walk passed through Oriental Avenue and San Juan Street until it ended in the Parque de las Luces. It was the only march that was organized in the Valle de Aburrá.
“We do not agree with Petro, that he wants to put an end to everything that works well, that he wants to double the price of gasoline,” said Andrés Rodríguez, one of the organizers.
The tour was not lacking in the accompaniment of officials from the Personería, with the aim of guaranteeing respect for human rights.
But the dissonant note was not lacking either: an act of intolerance in which the journalist Marco Madrigal, of the Telemedellín channel, was attacked by the demonstrators, a clear repression of the press. He and his cameraman, Carlos Tamayo, had to leave the march due to the insults and blows they received. The fact is being documented to send it to the Foundation for the Freedom of the Press, which is preparing a pronouncement.