nicholas o'donovan reports. what started as a normal union strike has morphed into one of colombia's biggest anti-government protest in recent times tens of thousands of people marching across the country and here on the streets of bogota at this point the rain thousands are still marching the gates the government towards the city center everything from students to union leaders to community leaders and indigenous people protested as we say against. case government this strike was announced before the full the protests in other latin american countries like chile or ecuador but people here are telling us that they've been inspired by those movements 5000 police officers here we've also have members of the military but the government says that we can't say that colombia is militarized because these soldiers just protected strategic buildings so that's the picture of the ground what about the reasons what's best hind this massive strike well it's a very differently to what happens in other latin american countries

the mainly peaceful but it said did a very clear message to pace government here in colombia nicholas o'donovan. a professor of latin american studies told us more about the roots of the mass protest in colombia the colombian masses this country of 40000000 compass seen in workers and indigenous who are today marching in flying the y. follow flag in solidarity with the people of bolivia ecuador chile haiti everywhere that there are things not just to go up against the colombian state. they're up against the u.s. sponsored colombian state the $265000000.00 in u.s. military aid that was sent this year under trump even more in past years with colombia so we shouldn't forget that there's 9 u.s. military bases over a 1000 u.s. military soldiers stationed in colombia 12 u.s. military bases in panama with the way there's also protests scheduled for later today against the same neo liberal agenda so the colombian people are fighting back not just for their interests but for the interests of humble people across the world. and is there all the opposition is demanding that prime minister benjamin netanya

the police used tear gas and water cannons demonstrators threw rocks at the way artie's nicholas sanchez o'donovan reports from the colombian. hello from bogota with the day the historic national and government strike. the consequences both politically and on the streets here we can see some of the damage as many others this. was completely vandalized destroyed by protest as we can see what they used not only to destroy this bus stop but right here they were throwing these rocks at police that what. with tear gas with water cannons and rubber bullets. i. i i. i. i am but mainly it was a peaceful protest and it was a massive protest as well over 200000 colombians marched nationwide protest in and it demanded more infrastructure and more money for education with the students but then you have the indigenous leaders they have fights in social justice in rural areas so that's a different front and then you have the unions they fight in so that the government doesn't implement the tax reforms that they trying to implement and more importantly they don't touch so that the government doesn't touch the pe