POLITICAL parties, trade unions and social organisations in Colombia have launched a new campaign to protect life, demanding aid for the poor and an end to assassinations.

The “cacerolazo” — a form of protest involving people banging pots and pans — started on Wednesday night, pressing for demands that include a universal basic income to mitigate losses caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

The Colombia Humana movement said: “If the government does not provide guarantees for a dignified life, then the people will express it on the streets.”

Colombia Humana called for investment in and improvements to the country’s health system, which is struggling to cope with Covid-19 and provides inadequate services to the rural and indigenous population.

The Comunes party — formerly the Common Alternative Revolutionary Force (Farc) — said that it was involved in the street protests because “Colombians deserve a dignified life” and people are tired of the poorest in society bearing the cost of the Covid crisis.

It was joined by the National Indigenous Organisation of Colombia in demanding “an end to the assassinations of the most disadvantaged populations, as well as social assistance policies for indigenous peoples, Afro-Colombians, peasants, rural and urban communities and for the most impoverished sectors.”