President Ivan Duque met for two hours with a protest steering committee Tuesday, but neither side was able to agree on a clear path forward and demonstrators vowed to hold a new national strike instead.

Diogenes Medina, a union organizer on the National Strike Committee, said protesters want a separate dialogue with Duque rather than inclusion in the “national conversation” that the president has begun with various societal sectors. “We’re willing to keep talking,” Medina said. But, he added, “We’ve told the government we want an independent initiative and are waiting for their response.”

The talks appeared to be the most promising avenue out of nearly a week of daily demonstrations bringing students, workers and other Colombians upset with Duque’s conservative government to the streets. Absent a quick resolution, the organizers said they would intensify their street protests in the days ahead.

“The government has not given a response to the points presented,” student leader José Cárdenas said. “The reasons for the strike continue.” The strike being called for Wednesday comes nearly a week after 250,000 Colombians marched in one of the nation’s largest protests in recent history.

In the days since, there have been smaller demonstrations, leading to the deaths of three people in looting incidents and an 18-year-old student who was fatally injured during a protest. Protesters are demonstrating about issues that include inequality, corruption and continued violence in rural areas, where more than 100 social leaders have been assassinated since Duque took office last year.

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