Hundreds of carriers and motorists flooded the streets of Bogota on Monday, rallying against the surging gasoline prices in the country.
Dump trucks, freight vehicles, and motorcycles converged, leading to roadblocks and an assembly in front of Bogota’s Ministry of Transportation, demanding negotiations with the government, as captured on footage.
According to media reports, protesters, including representative groups of vehicle users and transport workers, expressed their discontent with the frequent increases in gasoline prices, which have significantly impacted their sectors. The country’s truckers’ union has been leading the call for a national march to address the high cost of gasoline and its monthly increment.
The increases in fuel prices have been reportedly implemented to address a deficit in the Fuel Fund, which was incurred during the tenure of Finance Minister Ocampo. The deficit amounts to 37 trillion Colombian pesos (8,9 million US dollars), and efforts are being made to reduce it to 17 trillion pesos (4,1 million US dollars).
A periodic increase has been implemented for fuel, initially of 200 pesos (0,049 US dollars) and later of 600 pesos (0,15 US dollars) per month, to reduce the deficit.
While diesel prices have not experienced the same increase as gasoline, concerns have been raised that a similar price hike might affect diesel in the future. Protesters fear that such an increase could have a detrimental impact on their work and livelihoods.
