Thousands march in Colombia against de la Espriella's cuts and Israel ties
Former President Petro leads opposition rally as new right-wing government threatens labor and education reforms.
What to know
- De la Espriella, elected narrowly in June on a far-right platform, is reversing his predecessor's social gains: expanding university access, raising minimum wages, and strengthening labor protections are now threatened by proposed austerity cuts.
- The government issued expanded police powers one day before the protests, claiming necessity to combat "urban terrorism disguised as protest"—but the October 14 demonstrations were largely peaceful.
- Opposition concerns span economic policy (austerity, free-market shifts), foreign relations (restoration of Israel ties and alignment with the Trump administration), and labor and healthcare rollbacks.
- Colombia's Congress must approve the 2027 budget by Tuesday; de la Espriella's allies are advancing spending reduction proposals that will determine the scope of social program cuts.
The dispute Whether de la Espriella's pre-protest police decree was a necessary security measure (his framing) or a suppression tactic designed to intimidate demonstrators (protesters' claim), given that the October 14 marches were largely peaceful.
De la Espriella's policies and protest restrictions are dismantling social gains and eroding democratic rights.
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“I feel like we have no guarantees and that the little we did obtain... we're about to lose.”
Ester Guerra · Arab News ↗
Police powers are necessary to prevent vandalism and disruption; the government respects the right to protest but not the right to destroy property or block services.
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“The right to protest is respected, but there is no right to destroy, attack the security forces, assault others or sow chaos.”
Abelardo de la Espriella · Al Jazeera ↗
“They're trying to frighten the population so people don't go out to protest, but it's in the Constitution as a right.”
Oscar Perez, Teacher, age 40 · Arab News ↗
Abelardo de la Espriella President of Colombia
Gustavo Petro Former President of ColombiaEster Guerra Teacher and protester
How it unfolded 1 development · click the chart to see its coverage articlesposts
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Petro calls mobilizations a wake-up call against "tyrannical" government
Former President Gustavo Petro, who led the Bogota march, wrote on social media that the protests represented a wake-up call two months into the new administration. Petro's government had expanded public university access, increased the minimum wage, and strengthened labor protections—reforms now under threat from de la Espriella's agenda.
“two months into the start of a tyrannical and imposed government…”
— Gustavo Petro -
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De la Espriella defends protest restrictions as protecting rights — The president insisted that the right to protest is respected but emphasized zero tolerance for vandalism, attacks on security forces, or blocking essential services. Critics noted that the October 14 protests were largely peaceful despite the pre-emptive police powers decree.
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Thousands march across Colombia against de la Espriella's government — On Wednesday, trade unionists, Indigenous people, students, feminists, and former President Petro led nationwide protests in major cities including Bogota. Demonstrators chanted "It will fall," protesting proposed austerity cuts to government programs, reversals of Petro-era labor and education reforms, and the restoration of Israeli diplomatic ties. Traffic in Bogota appeared calmer than usual as companies encouraged remote work.
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De la Espriella issues decree expanding police powers ahead of protests — One day before the planned demonstrations, the president passed an executive order relaxing rules on official intervention in protests and handing expanded law enforcement powers to quickly deal with vandalism and disruptions to essential services. He justified the measure as necessary "to attack urban terrorism disguised as protest."
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De la Espriella takes office as Colombia's new president — Abelardo de la Espriella, a millionaire businessman and former defense lawyer, assumed the presidency after winning a June runoff by a narrow margin on a far-right platform. He campaigned to address crime and immigration while shrinking government and adopting free-market policies aligned with the US.