Colombia Holds First National Strike Against De la Espriella<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nProtests spread across more than a dozen departmental capitals and municipalities, including Bogot\u00e1, Medell\u00edn, Cali, Barranquilla, Ibagu\u00e9, Popay\u00e1n and Bucaramanga. In Bogot\u00e1, four columns of demonstrators converged on Bol\u00edvar Square under a security operation monitored by a Unified Command Post.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In Medell\u00edn, demonstrations escalated into clashes between protesters and the Mobile Anti-Riot Squadron (ESMAD). Security forces deployed tear gas, rubber bullets and armored vehicles, leading to several arrests. Assaults on members of the press were also reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Clashes and serious public disturbances were also recorded in Ibagu\u00e9 and Popay\u00e1n following police interventions. Human rights organizations, including the NGO Temblores, denounced the presence of armed men carrying rifles on the rooftops of government buildings in Bogot\u00e1, describing their deployment as a direct threat to protesters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The demonstrations brought together trade unions, teachers, university students, Indigenous communities, LGBTQ+ groups and feminist organizations. Opposition figures, including former President Gustavo Petro and Senator Iv\u00e1n Cepeda, also took part.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Protesters called for labor, education and social protections, seeking to preserve measures introduced under the previous administration, including free access to public universities and increases in the minimum wage. They opposed what they described as a neoliberal shift under De la Espriella\u2019s government, citing budget cuts and the administration\u2019s initial economic reforms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Demonstrators also rejected the restoration of diplomatic relations with Israel and what they described as U.S. interference in Colombia\u2019s affairs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Tensions mounted after the government signed a decree hours before the marches that changes the rules governing police conduct during public demonstrations. De la Espriella defended the measure as necessary to combat \u201curban terrorism,\u201d while opposition politicians and social organizations condemned it as an attempt to intimidate protesters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Senator Cepeda warned that the decree risked returning Colombia to a situation in which fear enabled arbitrary actions by security forces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThey want to take us back to a time when fear becomes the means through which the security forces act arbitrarily,\u201d Cepeda said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trade union sources said organizers were already drawing up a schedule of further mobilizations for the coming months following Wednesday\u2019s mass protests. The campaign could culminate in a general strike in November.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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