People support Democracy Plan and security measures in Bogota ahead of presidential elections
Bogota/Colombia- People commended the special security measures in the Colombian capital, Bogota, to put an end to violence, ahead of the presidential elections due to be held on May 29th.
As Guerillas of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia were responsible for most of the violence across the country, authorities took decisions to close parks at night, ban motorcyclists from carrying a male passenger and deploy police forces in the street.
While the electoral campaigns take over the streets of Bogota, the citizens expressed gratitude for the deployment of police forces in the city’s center, even though people are aware of the real dimension of the conflict.
A Bogota citizen hailed the mitigation measures but he said authorities must act more to prevent acts of robberies and murders.
“Insecurity is so profound that the mitigation measures have been good but they do not compensate for what the criminals already had invaded us with robberies and murders. There is still a long way to go.”
On the other hand, another resident said there will not be much improvement unless the government addressed the unemployment issue which is the main reason behind the violence that rigged the country.
“The key matter is unemployment, and people get involved in crime for that reason. In our country, the poor are getting poorer and the rich are getting richer. That is the problem”
Bogotá, a city of 8 million people, currently has a police force of 18,000 men and women and the government promised to increase the number to 22,000 by the year-end.