Colombia Prepares for Nationwide Pot-Banging Protests

Colombians have planned a national “cacerolazo” for 6 p.m. Colombian time today, September 4, 2013. A cacerolazo is a form of popular protest in which people express their agreement with an issue by making noise and banging pots (cacerolas), pans and kitchen utensils, or other items that can be used to create sound.

Using the Twitter hashtag #CacerolazoPor users express their reasons to take to the streets.

Paola Ochoa Rivera invites the protest to move from the virtual to the physical:

#CacerolazoPor more protests in the street and fewer on Twitter

Tefy expresses her hope for a more fair nation:

#CacerolazoPor a more just country

Meanwhile, Tatu García discusses the dignity of Colombian society:

#CacerolazoPor the dignity of my society

Santiago mentions his disagreement with the national government's efforts and strategies:

#CacerolazoPor Santos's bad government and for kneeling in front of the empire and multinationals

And Stephanie states that participation in the “cacerolazo” is an act of solidarity with the nation's farmers, who have been on strike since August 19:

It is time to act in solidarity with the farmers and their justified struggles, get away from the screens and into reality LONG LIVE THE AGRARIAN STRIKE

For Camila Andrea, the protest serves as a call to work toward a better country:

#CacerolazoPor To have a better country for everyone and people in the future!!

And in Catalina Gualdron's opinion, the protest is justified by the complex reality of life in Colombia:

#CacerolazoPor A country filled with terrible services, in health, education, agriculture… #YaEsHora It's time for a change!

However, Juan Sebastián believes that many people simply tweet about the cacerolazo to get favorites for their tweets:

#CacerolazoPor Lack of Favorites (?).

Finally, the Fuerza Común account shares this poster:

#CacerolazoPor the streets, through side walks. We go all-out against the policies that have stripped Colombia of everything @PaisComun pic.twitter.com/VPDZuoE3gM

Stay tuned for further posts about Colombia's agricultural strike, which has already been in effect for 17 days.

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