Protest Season Starts?

Today's big protest march by students, unions and public employees thru downtown Bogotá may be the beginning of protest season. At least, some participants said to expect more demonstrations tomorrow and Friday.

The demands - more pay and benefits and cheaper, better education, were pretty similar to last year's (and those of the year before...). In fact, conveniently, much of the graffiti and paint ball marks from last year's protests are still on building walls along La Septima.

Last year, we had months of protests, mostly by students, against the Ley 30, which would have partially privatized the public universities, which are extremely leftist. The protesters finally won when the government dropped the proposal.

These smiling female stormtroopers don't look too intimidating. 

The Banco de la Republica was well protected from paintballs. 

The government just may get overthrown, but this cafeteria's safe. 

....and so is the monument to Jorge Eliecer Gaitan, whose assassination started the biggest protests of all. 

The sign warns that without good, affordable education bigger and more violent guerrillas will appear. 

An ice cream seller doesn't miss an opporunity. 

Marching toward combat. The protests actually seemed pretty peaceful.

Vending the communist newspaper 'Voz.'

By Mike Ceaser, of Bogotá Bike Tours