‘They can’t take it any more’: pandemic and poverty brew violent storm in Colombia

Demonstrations that began with a general strike on 28 April quickly descended into violence, with as many as 37 protesters killed across the country

Yina Reyes, a 39-year-old nurse from the downtrodden neighbourhood of Siloe in the Colombian city of Cali, knows only too well what Covid-19 can do to a person - and to a community. Her mother was hospitalized with the disease, and came close to death.

As a home care nurse, she has seen patients get sick and neighbours die. In the early days of the pandemic, her husband lost his job as a chauffeur, leaving her to provide for their daughter and his parents, who share their home.