This week, almost at the same time as the Presidente Serio Aleksandar Vučić He was in China To meet with Vladimir Putin y Xi Jinping —And participating in the military parade organized by Beijing To commemorate the 80 years of the surrender of Japan And the end of the Second World War-, another anniversary was on everyone’s lips in their own country. That is, the ten months After the collapsehe November 1 last year, from the roof of the Novi Sad Railway Stationthe second city of the country. An accident that triggered greater citizen protests of the recent history of Serbia.
By his duración, stake y political impactlas Serbian protests They have broken all records in these months and currently constitute the Citizen Revolt ongoing the greatest magnitude in Europa. In fact, the students —Principal Motor of the mobilizations – have also managed to congregate with the passage of time also to other sectors of the Serbian societywho continue to respond to calls that are developed in a daily basis, without a resolution of the crisis In the short term.
From the beginning
The reason is that all trading between him Gobierno de Vučić and the protesters It has failed loudly. From the beginning, the students They have demanded deep Institutional reforms To eradicate the corruption and move towards a democracy more solid; Now they also claim early elections. Nor the resignation of the Minister of Infrastructure, Gorana Vrbajacnor the judicial processes against a dozen people have managed to calm the discontent.
The previous experience of protesters in others protests —And, above all, his familiarity with the government tactics– has also contributed to maintaining the moving In the streets. Despite this, the movement has experienced some transformations: One of them is the growing presence (and voice) of sectors Serbian nationalists Among the protesters, something that some analysts interpret as one strategy to weaken to Vucic —What power has long been sustained in that electorate-, although at the same time it is undoubtedly counterproductive For him regional and international support.
Uncertainty
In this context, the uncertainty about what can happen in the coming months is maximum. The concern is also in the animosity between protesters y Order forceswhich has already intensified. The past August 14nails 50 personas were arrested and near 30 agents They resulted injured In one of the protests; others have denounced arbitrary arrests of protesters. While Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has denounced more than 30 aggressions contra journalists In the last months.
Last Monday, the anniversary of the accident of Novi Sadthousands of Serbs again challenged the authorities and went into mass in the streets of Belgrade. The demonstration was massive but peaceful, the problem is how long the country will take to return to its normality.
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