Thousands of citizens have taken to the streets of Colombia's main cities this Wednesday to demand improvements in labor conditions, in the educational system, and in other areas, in what has become the first national strike promoted by unions and civil society groups against the government of President Abelardo de la Espriella.
In Bogotá, the mobilization began at various points in the city until converging in Bolívar Square, causing detours and delays in public transportation despite the rain. The march has been joined by figures from the opposition Pacto Histórico, including former presidential candidate Iván Cepeda, who hours earlier had denounced on his social media a "intimidation strategy" by the Executive aimed at "repressing" the protest.
"The Colombian people cannot be intimidated with arbitrary decisions like those being made by De la Espriella," Cepeda stated from the mobilization, according to a statement released by him shortly after. In the text, he points out the decree approved by the far-right president, which modifies the protocols of action for security forces in demonstrations, as a provision that "buries dialogue as a way to address social mobilization and seeks to impose the use of force again."
In this regard, Cepeda has warned that the current government intends to undo the rights and democratic advances attributed to the administration of Gustavo Petro in the last four years and "plunge millions of people that our government had lifted out of misery into poverty." "We will not allow the rights of the people to be violated and trampled. Here we are peacefully; we will not let them take away what we have already conquered," he emphasized.
Former President Petro himself has also joined the march. In images he has shared on his social media, he defended that "this is how we respond to adversity with dignity and a desire to win again, without fear." "Life is the companion and not death. The people do not surrender, damn it," he added, referring to the slogan of Argentine President Javier Milei.
Along with the Pacto Histórico, the Central Unitaria de Trabajadores (CUT), the Federación Colombiana de Educadores (FECODE), university collectives, and various social organizations have promoted the strike day, gathering demands of a labor, educational, economic, and territorial nature, in addition to rejecting the policies announced by the Executive.
Official balance and defense of decree 1525
At the end of the day, De la Espriella has made a balance on his social networks, where he has highlighted that "98% of the mobilizations have taken place peacefully," with attendees exercising "their legitimate right to protest in an orderly manner and respecting the institutions." "That is democracy, and as president of the Republic, I will always defend and guarantee it," he has assured.
The president has estimated 62,000 participants in the demonstrations, awaiting the organizers to make their own figures public. However, he has described this number as "a figure that represents a very small proportion of the Colombian population, but whose rights and guarantees deserve all the respect of the State."
"Peaceful protest is respected, protected, and guaranteed. But violence, vandalism, and any attempt to violate the rights of others will have no place under my mandate," he has pointed out, linking his assessment of the day with the decree that modifies the protocols of action of the security forces in the face of protest acts. "The right to manifest is as legitimate as the right of millions of Colombians to work, move freely, and live in peace," he has emphasized.
The marches take place a day after the far-right leader signed decree 1525, already in force, which "defines the new protocol of action of the authorities within the framework of public demonstrations," according to a statement from the Presidency, and which "regulates the legitimate use of state force to protect citizens and guarantee the right to peaceful protest."
"The right to protest is not above the right to work, study, move, and live in peace!" De la Espriella stated when presenting the measure, which he claims seeks "to strengthen the guarantees of those who peacefully manifest and ensure that the authorities act, within the framework of the law, against those who intend to sow chaos."
The first article of the decree establishes that "in the face of acts of violence, the obligation to prioritize dialogue and mediation constitutes a rule of preference (...) and not a prior requirement that conditions, suspends, or postpones the actions" of the security forces.