On Wednesday, 14 October, Colombian unions and teachers planned marches over public education, teachers’ health care, labor benefits and the 2027 minimum wage, while organizers weighed a wider national strike with no date set. Bogotá was expected to host the largest gatherings. Marches were also announced in Medellín, Cali, Barranquilla and Bucaramanga.
Workers’ Demands and Divisions
Bogotá’s city government listed 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 CUT is the Central Unitaria de Trabajadores, a national union confederation, while Fecode is the national teachers’ federation. The Pacto Histórico is the left-wing coalition of former President Gustavo Petro, predecessor of conservative President Abelardo de la Espriella.
The CGT, another union confederation, said on Friday, 9 October, that it “does not mobilise or call on its affiliated organisations” to march, according to Publimetro. So the march call didn’t represent every union confederation named in the reports.
The Asociación Distrital de Educadores, Bogotá’s teachers’ union, called a separate march under the slogan that the city’s teachers “stop and mobilise.” Its demands focused 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, labor benefits and damage from the August earthquake among the issues.
Former President Gustavo Petro said he would join the Bogotá march. “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. Organizers were considering a national strike in November, but they hadn’t set a date.
Routes and Public Services
Bogotá’s city government published its protest agenda on Monday, 12 October. Teachers were scheduled to gather at Parque Nacional, on Carrera Séptima at Calle 26, at 10:00 a.m.; the article gave this as 11:00 a.m. in New York. A city notice on Tuesday listed the union march there from 9:30 a.m. Both marches were headed to Plaza de Bolívar.
The city also listed a university march from the Universidad Colegio Mayor de Cundinamarca and a march in the southern district of Usme, with no confirmed time for either. Expected routes included Carrera Séptima, Carrera Décima and Calle 26, though officials warned they could change. Local press listed gatherings in at least eight cities, and Bogotá listed eight protest events between 13 and 18 October.
Noticiero 90 Minutos listed a 9:00 a.m. start in Cali at Jairo Varela square, heading toward Parque de las Banderas, and a 10:00 a.m. start in Medellín at the Adida teachers’ union, the Universidad de Antioquia and the Aventura shopping centre. Reports differed over locations: El Colombiano named Plaza San Antonio as Medellín’s main point, while Publimetro said neither that location nor Cali’s Plaza de Cayzedo was confirmed. By Tuesday evening, Medellín’s and Cali’s mayors’ offices had published no march plan.
Barranquilla’s gathering was set for 10:00 a.m. on Paseo Bolívar; Bucaramanga’s was set for 9:00 a.m. from two points, heading to Luis Carlos Galán square. Ibágué, Armenia and Riohacha also expected early morning gatherings.
Government Decree and Protest Policing
In a national address on Monday, 12 October, De la Espriella said officials would publish a new protest decree “in the coming days.” “Never again a permanent blockade of a highway, never again a TransMilenio lane turned into a trench,” he said. He also said peaceful marchers would receive protection and that 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. Publimetro said the Interior Minister called the marches an early test of the decree.
The reports reviewed on Tuesday hadn’t included the final decree. 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 to include attacks on people, throwing dangerous objects and blocking medical missions. It makes dialogue the first response and allows force only as an exception 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 prevent roads and TransMilenio lanes from being closed indefinitely.
Bogotá’s education department said public schools would hold classes as normal and asked teachers marching to protest outside class hours. Turnout, the decree’s final wording and whether the government would sign it before the marches were unknown. The city warned that marches could affect traffic and TransMilenio routes, particularly around Santa Fe, Teusaquillo, La Candelaria and Usme.