Author: Daniela Pomes Photo Credit: Ross Uribe “The first time the police arrived, seven neighbours from the building came down to say that it wasn’t true that people were complaining about the noise. The second time they arrived, the neighbour from the corner shop invited them to eat empanadas and so the police stayed“, says Ana Izquierdo, one of the people behind Génesis Sound System, a sound system that rolled through the streets of Bogotá during the 2021 National Strike. On its busiest day, Génesis paraded with 500 people walking alongside it. On 28 April last year, the largest national strike in recent Colombian history broke out. It was also the one with the most police violence. According to figures published by the independent Colombian NGO Temblores, from its beginning until 15 July 2021, at least 4852 cases of police violence were registered, and among them were at least 44 cases of homicidal violence at the hands of the National Police. However, the Ministry of Defence, together with the Attorney General’s Office, only acknowledged the deaths of 24 civilians in the protests. Temblores also recorded at least 35 victims of sexual violence by the security forces, among other figures. Against
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