Analysis: May be the starting point for a women's revolution

"And my pension then?" - the letters are formed by the smoke from the candles on a birthday cake. One of many political messages spread on the walls of Colombia's largest university. I have been visiting Colombia for over 20 years. But this time it's different.

Colombia was for many years a country with a bloody armed conflict where the political agenda was completely dominated by war and security. And social criticism was often equated with sympathy for the guerrillas. But following the peace agreement between the government and the Farc guerrillas, the public conversation has changed and now taxes, pensions and student loans are suddenly discussed as never before.

There are clear similarities between the protest movements in Colombia and Chile. Both countries have conservative presidents who have seen their confidence numbers dive. A recent poll is worrying reading for Colombia's President Iván Duque - 70 percent think Duque is doing a bad job and 74 percent support street protests. And Chile is inspiring because street protests have forced the government into a series of political concessions.

The wave of protests sweeping across Latin America is driven by a deep crisis of confidence in the entire political system. It is about years of corruption scandals and a widespread feeling that the political elite lives completely disconnected from the everyday problems of the population.

Discontent grows with an economic policy that has given rise to growth and a larger middle class in many countries, but where communities are at the same time struggling with high living costs, the absence of functioning public welfare and where the difference between rich and poor is still greater than in any other part of the world. And social mobility is low. According to the OECD, it takes eleven generations for a poor Colombian family to reach the middle class.

I don't know how many frustrated young Latin Americans I've talked to over the past few years. Ambitious citizens who have "done everything right" - studied, dreamed, worked their way up - but still have a hard time getting everyday together. Have kids? Invest in a new career? Buying your own home? Everything feels risky when the economic uncertainty awaits behind every corner.

A new generation of connected and well-educated Latin Americans puts completely different demands on their power holders. Students play a key role in the protest movement and women have a more prominent position than before. If I were forced to reduce 2019 street protests in Latin America to a single political subject, it would probably be: a young urban well-educated woman who has had enough.

We will look back on 2019 as a year when Latin American politics was fundamentally shaken. And perhaps also as the starting point for a women's revolution. It is no coincidence that the protest song from Chile - "A rapist in your way" - which is now spreading like wildfire across the world is a feminist manifesto that points finger at the Latin American societies that have so far closed their eyes to systematic abuses against women.