Colombian teachers and union members take to the streets Wednesday in at least eight cities, pressing demands on public education, teachers’ health care, the 2027 minimum wage and relief after the August earthquake. The government, meanwhile, warns of a tougher protest decree.
Organisers describe the marches as preparation for a wider strike with no date. They’re considering a national strike in November, but haven’t set one. The protests target the government of conservative President Abelardo de la Espriella.
Who Is Marching, and Why
Bogotá’s city government listed four protest events for Wednesday, including union and teacher gatherings at Parque Nacional from 9:30 a.m. The city counted eight protest events between 13 and 18 October. Local press listed gatherings in at least eight cities; the largest were planned for Bogotá, with others announced in Medellín, Cali, Barranquilla and Bucaramanga.
Published Monday, 12 October, the city’s agenda lists a “preparatory mobilisation for the strike against the Government,” called by the CUT, CTC, CGT, CDP, Fecode, the Pacto Histórico and Alianza por la Vida. Fecode is the national teachers’ federation. The Pacto Histórico is the left-wing coalition of former President Gustavo Petro, De la Espriella’s predecessor.
Not every union is on board. On Friday, 9 October, the CGT said it “does not mobilise or call on its affiliated organisations” to march, according to Publimetro.
The Asociación Distrital de Educadores, Bogotá’s teachers’ union, called its own march under the slogan that the city’s teachers “stop and mobilise.” Its demands centre on public education and the teachers’ health scheme, which the Fondo Nacional de Prestaciones Sociales del Magisterio runs. Publimetro and Infobae also listed the 2027 minimum wage, labour benefits and damage from the August earthquake among the issues. Petro said he would join. “I will be at the 14 October march in Bogotá, and I expect all the working people of the city,” he wrote, according to Infobae.
The Government’s Response
In a national address Monday, 12 October, De la Espriella said a new protest decree would appear “in the coming days.” He said: “Never again a permanent blockade of a highway, never again a TransMilenio lane turned into a trench.” He added that authorities would protect peaceful marchers and make dialogue the rule. “If they intend to set Colombia on fire, they will meet the determination of the Tiger,” he said, referring to himself. Publimetro said the Interior Minister called the marches an early test of the decree.
The reports reviewed on Tuesday hadn’t included the final text. Asuntos Legales described a draft on 8 October that would amend Decree 003 of 2021, the existing protocol for policing protests. It defines violent acts, including attacks on people, throwing dangerous objects and blocking medical missions. Dialogue remains the first response, and authorities could use force only exceptionally once set criteria show dialogue is exhausted. The UNDMO, the riot unit formerly called the ESMAD, would handle wider violent situations only. The draft also creates “solidarity corridors” to prevent indefinite closures of roads and TransMilenio lanes.
On the Ground
Bogotá teachers gather at Parque Nacional, on Carrera Séptima at Calle 26, at 10:00 a.m. Then they head to Plaza de Bolívar. The city also listed a university march from the Universidad Colegio Mayor de Cundinamarca and one in the southern district of Usme, neither with a confirmed time. Cali’s march starts at 9:00 a.m. at Jairo Varela square, per Noticiero 90 Minutos. Barranquilla gathers at 10:00 a.m. on Paseo Bolívar, and Bucaramanga at 9:00 a.m. Ibagué, Armenia and Riohacha also expected early gatherings.
Bogotá’s education department said public schools would hold classes as normal and asked marching teachers to protest outside class hours. The city warned that traffic and TransMilenio routes around Santa Fe, Teusaquillo, La Candelaria and Usme could face disruption. Turnout, the decree’s final wording and whether it would be signed before the marches were all unknown.
Why This Matters: The marches put public-sector workers’ concerns on the table before a possible November strike: classroom funding, health coverage for teachers, wages and earthquake recovery. They also arrive as the government prepares rules that will shape how Colombians can protest. The draft promises dialogue first and limits on force, but it also targets road blockades, a common tool for groups with little other leverage. How the decree reads in its final form, and how police apply it Wednesday, will show whether the right to protest holds up in practice. Those who bear the cost of weak schools, strained health schemes and thin paychecks are the people marching.