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Blog entry, Nov 21

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yolatengo
  11/21/2019 07:31 EST

[It is with hesitation that I post this here due to some of the controversial subjects. However, it is what it is and that is, my opinions and experiences. The portion about today's strike was gathered from conversations with paisas and several newspaper articles. The entries are posted to a whatsapp group and occasionally reposted here.]

Thursday, November 21, 2019

My brother thinks I obsess over food. And he is correct. But not the way one may think. I’ve lost about 10 pounds since I came to Colombia. My issue with food is that I’ve grown to dislike most typical Colombian food. I often joke that it’s all the same and made from one underground central kitchen which supplies the restaurants. However, that problem has mostly been solved. I found 2 people to prepare American style dinners. One person is my former teacher’s daughter and makes very reasonably priced meals. The other person is the loco (but good “loco”) French guy who cooked in finer restaurants in France. Due to the cost, I only get 1 meal per week from him. Coupled with the occasional Colombian meal, problem basically solved.

The Christmas lights in Sabaneta park light up around 9pm. Why so late? Anyway, it’s a sight to behold. I showed a photo of the church all lit up in my last writing. That was from 2018. I was pleasantly surprised to see that it hasn’t changed a bit in 2019.

Thanksgiving, my favorite holiday, is not a holiday here. Still, a bunch of restaurants serve traditional Thanksgiving meals. I heard that in general, the meals are not very good and the turkey is nothing like in the US. However, there is a restaurant that good write-ups from past Thanksgivings. It is located right in the center of gringo-land, parque Lleras in Poblado. It is also in a sports bar which will surely make dinner conversation difficult, especially considering the football games which will be on a zillion screens. Anyway, I made reservations having little alternative.

Tensions have been rising throughout Colombia and is climaxing today with the first national strike in 3 years. Like everything else in Colombia, the purpose(s) of the strike are confusing. There is no one group organizing the strike and there’s no single reason. There’s a lot of frustration here, mostly financial – cost of living (good for foreigners, but Colombians suffer), a VAT increase as well as issues with the health care system and corruption. President Duque is not a very popular man – his disapproval rate hovers around 70%. [Does that make you feel better DJT?] One of the impetuses for the strike was to pay young people 75% of the minimum wage. In addition, it was proposed by former President Uribe, a Duque lackey, to reduce the working week which may impact people’s pensions. Last, there was another unpopular proposal to increase pension contributions.

Other sources of dissension include the murder of over 100 indigenous people since Duque took power. And lots more examples of violence including murders of social leaders. Student protests went on for two months and only ended a few months ago. The strikes ended as a result of promises made by the government which have not been implemented.

Venezuelans have been allowed to immigrate to Colombia basically without any controls or limits to the number of persons allowed. Some see this as the right thing to do considering the alternative to Venezuelans is to stay in a country completely out of control. I have mixed feelings. It’s a huge strain on an already fractured economy. It is common to see Venezuelans with small children at their side begging for money in the streets. It is very sad. However, some Venezuelans take advantage and basically rent and drug children (so they’re quiet) in order to garner sympathy. Personally, I give a few hundred pesos here and there with mixed feelings.

The marches are scheduled to start at 9am, a few hours from now as I write this. There will almost certainly be some violence – the only question is how much. The big scare is that Colombia will follow other Latin American countries on the road to communism which has only led to disaster elsewhere.

JustSomeGuy
  11/21/2019 08:21 EST

Yo, thanks for posting. I’m sorry to hear the food is a problem but glad to hear you’ve got it solved, mostly. On the bright side it’s probably good you lost the weight. My amiga has gone to the big city so breakfast this morning was boiled eggs and fruit & vegetables. She makes fun of me, and rightfully so.

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yolatengo
  11/21/2019 08:28 EST

Just after posting my blog, the following appeared in Medellin's best blog, more informative than what I wrote....

https://medellinguru.com/colombia-protests/

JSG - I tried and tried to like the food, but my stomach rebels. I think I had too many menu del dias :)

Orion95
  11/21/2019 08:37 EST

Whatever other comments you may get - prob the best post I have read on this site. Accurate, honest, realistic, informative.

Thank you.

SkyMan
  11/21/2019 09:26 EST

Presidente Duque won the election because his name is NOT PETRO(who is a former FARC leader and a Socialist).

The Colombian government promised the indigenous people a settlement of sorts years ago, but did not pay them. Source: El tiempo Newspaper.

The hospital in Cúcuta(at the Vanezuelan border) has treated over 13,000 Venezuelan patients in the past year and the Colombian Government has not paid the hospital. Source: El País Newspaper

Although the "national strike day" may have real issues to bring to the attention of the government...the real planning and financing(from what I have been told) is coming from Russia and China, in an attempt to "de-stabilize" Latin America. We will all see what the result is.

Elexpatriado
  11/21/2019 09:29 EST

The Colombians take advantage of Venezuelans as well

standard rate for a domestica (maid) is 50 mil pesos for a 6 hour day.

I have a Vanezuelana amiga - here legally with papers- a registered nurse-and people pay her 20 mil afor 6 hours, including cooking, cleaning etc.

There are many other examples of Venezuelans being under paid-well below the salario mínimo.

Dont forget Venezuela accepted milions of Colombians 20 years ago or so when things here were bad and the economy there was booming

I do volunteer work occaisionally giving out food at a foundation that has atent on the route between Bucaramanga and Cucuta

By the same token I get quite annoyed by these people pestering me in the street- reither Venezuelan or Colombian- and even more so when I am in a restaurant in the patio adjoining the street enjoying a meal or coctail and they come and pester me for plata, sometimes even touching me (I went ballistic when that happened)

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Elexpatriado
  11/21/2019 09:44 EST

"Tensions have been rising throughout Colombia and is climaxing today with the first national strike in 3 years. Like everything else in Colombia, the purpose(s) of the strike are confusing. There is no one group organizing the strike and there’s no single reason. There’s a lot of frustration here, mostly financial – cost of living (good for foreigners, but Colombians suffer), a VAT increase as well as issues with the health care system and corruption. President Duque is not a very popular man – his disapproval rate hovers around 70%. [Does that make you feel better DJT?] One of the impetuses for the strike was to pay young people 75% of the minimum wage. In addition, it was proposed by former President Uribe, a Duque lackey, to reduce the working week which may impact people’s pensions. Last, there was another unpopular proposal to increase pension contribut"

The government has stated that the reduced minimum wage and not paying for weekend work are false rumours spread by the Petroistas and other leftists, some of them former provacateurs

Alse, Duque is a lacky of Uribe not the other way around.

Also as far as the health care system, it seems to me all the Expat posters on this site give it great accolades. It is quite ironic and funny reallyas it is well known that corruption is rampant in the EPS system, and many EPSs have gone bancrupt because of this

I am not saying what the government says is true , or what the leftists say is true.nor whether there were or are real plans for austerity over and above what has already been implemented. The only thing I think is real is the VAT has increased in the last year, they are trying in a half hearted attempt to get people to pay taxes (many land owners have paid nothing for years and DIAN is now enforcing this to some degree), supposedly corporate taxes have been dropped. I think these real issues have caused some anger.

The rest is just conjecture. Dont believe anything you hear or read in Colombia , from whatever source,..government , opposition, and espescially people in the street, unlees you experience it yourself, or from an extremely trusted and reliable source (Forget anything you hear from your common Colombians)

Orion95
  11/21/2019 10:40 EST

Well, that (don't believe everything you hear) would include yourself, would it not? But it is good to get your opinion.

I assume there are more reliable Colombian and International sources out there that we can all access.

Orion95
  11/21/2019 10:50 EST

I do agree and am sure in a situation like this accusations are flying.
Relating to Bolivia, next door neighbor to Colombia, the ousted Bolivian official (can't remember exact title) interviewed the other day on television blamed the U.S. for financing in part the coup that overthrew their president. Sadly neither that or Colombian issues are covered in the U.S. media so informed analysis is scarce.

LaPiranha
  11/21/2019 12:04 EST

I might suggest you look at a map, Orion.

Not really "next door neighbour", You could say more like half a continent away, And the cultures change many times 'tween them and us.

Blenheim
  11/21/2019 13:11 EST

Evo was supposed to serve one term---changed the constitution----the goal to be a lifetime socialist president of Bolivia---the U.S. did not have to be involved--the intelligent Bolivians see the result of the Chavez / Mudero Venezuela----

Most here do not know in the early 1990's many educated Venezuelans were already leaving there due to Chavez--Key Biscayne was being overrun--

If Uribe was a lackey -----
Wonder how one would define Chavez and Maduro--and resulting today's Venezuela----

Will see what the new mayor Lopez
does for south Bogota and south central Bogota-- for those areas voted for her, as well previously for Petro, and for Petro in the Presidental election--

With the labor laws of today one might notice very few muchacha's versus 20 years ago--shopping at Exito-Carulla-Jumbo---

Today one now sees the woman of the house--without a muchacha---

Wonder how the muchacha employment rate is doing today in Colombia

(Right -there was no Jumbo 20 years
ago)

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Elexpatriado
  11/21/2019 14:05 EST

To be totally honest Bolivia is a different case from Cuba or Venezuela.

The Bolivian economy has done quite well under Morales - allthough it stsrted from a very low base.,and the lot of the indigenous people has improved substantially

That does not ,, however justify Morales abuse of power and corruption


He was basically another dictator whos time is up.

One can.only hope the new government will be more democratic and more inclusive of the indigenous majority than Euro ethnic governments have been.in the past in Bolivia

Orion95
  11/21/2019 16:24 EST

You are correct and I exaggerated the relation. From about the 2 closest points in the 2 countries - Leticia to Cobija, Bolivia - is about 478 miles. Not half a continent -from Caracas to Buenos Aires is about 4500 miles - but def not sharing a common border either. How about just a neighbor?

Other than that any other points?

Orion95
  11/21/2019 16:31 EST

My point which you may or may not have missed was that the international exchange rate between Bolivia and the U.S. hasn't really changed since the civil unrest started. It had nothing to do with a comparison of Colombian and Bolivian cultures.
And my point with the comments of U.S. interference in Bolivia was not that I believe it - I doubt if it is true but I don't know - it was supporting Elexpatriado's advice not to necessarily believe everything you hear. Esp not in Latin America.

PFleetwood
  11/21/2019 16:52 EST

Just curious - checked and about 3000 miles from Rio de Janeiro Brazil to Lima, Peru. About 700 miles from La Paz Bolivia to Cobija Bolivia.
For whatever that's worth - big continent.
Wonder why the thumbs down for this thread? Don't really get some of you people.

Orion95
  11/21/2019 17:25 EST

Very different. I agree.

www.theguardian.com/world/2019/nov/15/evo-morales-indigenous-leader-who-changed-bolivia-but-stayed-too-long

Interesting because I was planning a trip and had read a glowing piece in the Economist about positive changes.
I have read nothing about him wanting a lifetime appointment - tho he may - just another term, ie staying too long.

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