Colombia’s President Iván Duque has withdrawn a controversial tax reform bill following four days of huge protests across the country. In a televised statement, he said his government  would work to produce new proposals and seek consensus with other parties and organisations. He had previously insisted tax rises were needed to respond to the economic crisis generated by the pandemic. But tens of thousands of people took to the streets in anger at the bill. Unions, who organised the protests, said it would disproportionately impact on the poorest people who were already struggling with the economic impact of Covid-19. President Duque, in his statement, acknowledged “it is a moment for the protection of the most vulnerable, an invitation to build and not to hate and destroy”.(BBC)…[+]