On Wednesday, Colombian unions and teachers took to the streets in a national mobilisation that organisers openly describe as a rehearsal for a wider strike, though they haven’t attached a date to it. Bogotá’s city government listed four protest events, and local press counted gatherings in at least eight cities. Organisers are weighing a national strike in November, but they haven’t committed to a date.
The Mobilisation
The biggest crowds were expected in Bogotá. Events were also announced in Medellín, Cali, Barranquilla and Bucaramanga. On Monday, 12 October, Bogotá’s city government published its protest agenda, listing 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. The Pacto Histórico is the left-wing coalition of former President Gustavo Petro, predecessor to conservative President Abelardo de la Espriella. The marches are aimed squarely at his government.
Not every labour group signed on. On Friday, 9 October, the CGT, another union confederation, said it “does not mobilise or call on its affiliated organisations” to march, according to Publimetro. Petro, meanwhile, said he’d be there. “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 demands cover several issues. Bogotá’s teachers’ union, the Asociación Distrital de Educadores, called its own march under the slogan that the city’s teachers “stop and mobilise,” focusing on public education and the teachers’ health scheme run through the Fondo Nacional de Prestaciones Sociales del Magisterio. Publimetro and Infobae also listed the 2027 minimum wage, labour benefits and damage from the August earthquake among the grievances.
The Government’s Response
In a national address on Monday, 12 October, De la Espriella said a new protest decree would be published “in the coming days.” His message was blunt on one point. “Never again a permanent blockade of a highway, never again a TransMilenio lane turned into a trench,” he said. He also pledged to protect peaceful marchers and said dialogue would be the rule. “If they intend to set Colombia on fire, they will meet the determination of the Tiger,” he added, referring to himself. El Tiempo reported the address, while Publimetro said the Interior Minister called the marches an early test of the decree.
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. The draft defines violent acts, including attacks on people, throwing dangerous objects and blocking medical missions. Dialogue remains the first response, and force becomes exceptional once set criteria show dialogue is exhausted. The UNDMO, the riot unit formerly called the ESMAD, would be reserved for wider violent situations. The draft also creates “solidarity corridors” to keep roads and TransMilenio lanes from being closed indefinitely.
What Commuters Face
In Bogotá, teachers were scheduled to gather at Parque Nacional, on Carrera Séptima at Calle 26. Their union march was set to start there at 9:30 a.m. Both groups were headed to Plaza de Bolívar. Expected routes included Carrera Séptima, Carrera Décima and Calle 26, though the city warned that routes could change. It also cautioned that marches could affect traffic and TransMilenio routes, particularly around Santa Fe, Teusaquillo, La Candelaria and Usme.
The city’s education department said public schools would hold classes as normal and asked marching teachers to protest outside class hours. Cali’s march was reported for a 9:00 a.m. start, Medellín’s for 10:00 a.m., Barranquilla’s for 10:00 a.m. on Paseo Bolívar and Bucaramanga’s for 9:00 a.m. By Tuesday evening, the mayors’ offices of Medellín and Cali hadn’t published march plans. No official notices announced airport closures or flight cancellations, though travellers to El Dorado airport were advised to allow extra time. The U.S. State Department rates Colombia Level 3, “Reconsider travel,” and warns demonstrations can “shut down roads and highways without notice.”
Why This Matters:
The marches test whether a government can keep commerce and commuting moving while honouring the right to protest. They’ll also show whether a loose coalition can turn grievances into a sustained strike. The draft decree tries to balance both, putting dialogue first while treating indefinite road closures as something the state won’t tolerate. Businesses and ordinary workers who rely on open highways and TransMilenio lanes have a direct stake in where that line gets drawn. Meanwhile, demands over the 2027 minimum wage and teachers’ health funding carry fiscal weight that any government will have to answer for. A November strike, if it comes, would raise the economic cost of the standoff considerably.