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| Demonstrators hold a modified version of the ANAPO political party's flag. |
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| Hooded protesters lined up on La Plaza del Che. |
My mind was on the lock-down in Boston, Massachusetts, where they were chasing down a suspected bomber, when we found this scene today on the campus of the Universidad Nacional.
Hooded youths, many in uniforms decorated with the name of the extinct M-19 guerrilla group, were parading about firing off smokebombs and firecrackers and haranging about socialism, Simon Bolivar and against the United States. The plaza was decorated with the symbols of the ELN and FARC guerrillas, both of whom are considered to be terrorists by the US, Colombia and the European Union.
If something like this took place in the U.S., I imagine the campus and probably the surrounding city blocks would be evacuated and the mayor would be on hand yelling thru a megaphone and pretending to take command.
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Students watch the demonstration underneath the image of
Camilo Torres, a priest who joined the ELN guerrillas. |
But in La Nacho's Plaza del Che a few students observed the rally with mild interest, while others went on with their day, eating lunch, going to class or reading while the guerrilla supporters tried to pull apart society.
Today was the anniversary of the April, 19 1970 election in which a conservative candidate was narrowly elected president, defeating one-time dictator Gustavo Rojas Pinilla. Rojas Pinilla's side cried fraud, giving birth to the M-19 guerrilla movement.
How inspiring is the M-19 movement? Today, several of the group's ex-leaders are in government, the most prominent of them Bogotá Mayor Gustavo Petro, who is wrestling with less-than-inspiring issues such as garbage collection, traffic jams and tax collection.
For a violent riot at La Nacho the other day see this blogpost:
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| Rallying under Che Guevara, their inspiration. |
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| Painting a mural about the M-19 guerrillas. |
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| Students read literature handed out by the demonstrators. |
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| Firing off firecrackers. |
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| Students, unfazed, walk thru the smoke from one of the protesters' smoke bombs. |
By Mike Ceaser, of
Bogotá Bike Tours
Hooded youths, many in uniforms decorated with the name of the extinct M-19 guerrilla group, were parading about firing off smokebombs and firecrackers and haranging about socialism, Simon Bolivar and against the United States. The plaza was decorated with the symbols of the ELN and FARC guerrillas, both of whom are considered to be terrorists by the US, Colombia and the European Union.
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