Colombia’s president withdrawing tax reforms after mass protests

Right-wing President Ivan Duque’s proposed tax reforms drew widespread public anger and protests across Colombia.

Colombian President Ivan Duque has said he is withdrawing a contentious tax reform proposal after thousands of protesters took to the streets across the South American nation for several days to denounce the measures. In a video on Sunday, Duque said he would ask Congress “to withdraw the law proposed by the finance ministry and urgently process a new law that is the fruit of consensus, in order to avoid financial uncertainty”. The proposed reforms, which the right-wing government had insisted were vital to stabilising Colombia’s finances, maintaining its credit rating and funding social programmes, has drawn widespread public anger and protests.