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Bogotá (dpa) - During violent protests against a planned tax reform in Colombia, demonstrators and police officers have fought violently in some cases.

Interior Minister Daniel Palacios said 42 officials were injured in the riots.

40 suspects were arrested.

In the capital Bogotá and the metropolis of Cali, numerous cars and buses were also attacked and several bus stops were vandalized.

President Iván Duque condemned the “vandal acts” on Twitter.

According to the newspaper «El Tiempo», around 50,000 Colombians took to the streets in various cities in the South American country.

The demonstrators were not deterred by a judicial ban and the corona pandemic from protesting against the government's planned tax reform.

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Among other things, the government wants to reduce tax exemptions, increase income tax for certain groups and abolish VAT exemptions for a number of goods and services.

This is intended to compensate for the deficits in the state budget caused by the Corona crisis.

Colombia is currently experiencing one of the most difficult phases since the beginning of the Corona crisis: 19,745 new Corona cases were registered on Wednesday.

In addition, the health authorities reported 490 deaths in connection with Covid-19 - the highest figure since the beginning of the pandemic.

© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210429-99-397545 / 2

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El Tiempo report

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El Tiempo report

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