Indonesia was engulfed by widespread protests driven by economic discontent and opposition to police brutality, marking the greatest challenge yet to President Prabowo Subianto’s government.
Demonstrators first took to the streets on Monday to push back against the country’s rising cost of living, and the protests have since ballooned and become violent after a police vehicle killed a 21-year-old motorcycle taxi driver at a rally on Thursday.
Taxi drivers, known as the ojol, are ubiquitous, and have a remarkable capacity to organize as the “eyes and ears in every single community,” a Southeast Asia-focused newsletter wrote.
Subianto, who canceled a scheduled visit to China because of the unrest, has seemingly bowed to some of the protesters’ demands, including cutting lawmakers’ allowances.