Issues & Struggle of young People in the 2021 National Strike Movement

The article describes and discusses social protest in the southwestern Colombian city Pasto within the framework of the so-called "National Strike". The situation was characterized by an unprecedented social mobilization and an alarming escalation in the use of repressive violence by the state.

The 2021 national strike brought together young men and women from various sectors and social movements in urban and rural areas throughout Colombia, where they mobilized to carry out social protest. The systematic violation of human rights, lack of educational opportunities, unemployment, inequality, violent state repression and poverty are reasons why thousands of young people took to the streets and roads across the country to protest.