Colombia is holding its first major day of protests against President Abelardo De la Espriella’s government this Wednesday, Oct. 14, with unions, social organizations, teachers and left-wing groups mobilizing to express their opposition to the administration’s initial decisions.
The protests will test the mobilization capacity of an opposition that lost power just over two months ago by less than 1% of the vote and is seeking to turn the streets into a platform for political pressure.
The demonstrations coincide with the entry into force of Decree 1525 of 2026, signed by the president on Tuesday, which changes the rules governing police conduct during protests. The government says it will guarantee the constitutional right to peaceful protest but warns that it will not tolerate violence or roadblocks that infringe on the rights of others.
The timing makes the demonstrations a political and institutional test, measuring both the opposition’s ability to mobilize supporters and the authorities’ handling of current and future social discontent.
Opposition calls first day of protests against De la Espriella
The protest call is being led primarily by the Central Unitary Workers’ Union (CUT), the Colombian Federation of Educators (Fecode) and the Historic Pact, the political coalition led by former President Gustavo Petro. They are joined by social organizations, student groups and Indigenous collectives that disagree with the new government’s policies.
The demonstrations emerged from meetings between labor unions and social organizations held in September, before some of the decisions now fueling criticism of the administration had been finalized. As a result, the protests bring together a range of demands, from labor and education issues to territorial concerns and questions about the scope of the new security measures.
Petro announced that he would join the demonstration in Bogota and called for a massive, peaceful turnout. “More than a month has passed since the government took office, and we already know where they’re headed: against the living minimum wage,” he said in a video posted on his social media accounts last Monday, urging people to take to the streets to protest.
Petro also argued that the De la Espriella government “is not a government for the people” but rather “a government for the big business interests of foreigners.” After confirming that he would attend the demonstration in Bogota, the former president urged people to “take to the streets to defend life.”
Sen. Ivan Cepeda, the opposition leader in Congress, also endorsed the protest call. In a social media post earlier Wednesday, Cepeda said, “Today we will exercise our right to peaceful mobilization,” criticizing the government for issuing its decree regulating protests on the same day. He described the move as “part of De la Espriella’s intimidation strategy” against the opposition.
The senator criticized the fact that “this new protocol was not discussed with the public or social organizations, as was done previously to develop the protocol that governed under the Historic Pact government led by Gustavo Petro.”
He also questioned the new rules, arguing that “De la Espriella’s protocol expands the use of force, restricts police dialogue, and creates conditions for the criminalization of those taking part in demonstrations, even when they are peaceful.”
HOY EJERCEREMOS NUESTRO DERECHO A LA MOVILIZACIÓN PACÍFICA
Sobre el decreto del gobierno relacionado con la protestaHoy tendrá lugar la primera movilización contra Abelardo de la Espriella, y su gobierno.
Ayer, y como parte de su estrategia intimidatoria, el gobierno expidió el decreto 1525 de 2026, para reprimir la protesta social.
Este nuevo protocolo no fue consultado a la ciudadanía ni a las organizaciones sociales, como se hizo antes para construir el protocolo que rigió en el gobierno del Pacto Historico presidido por Gustavo Petro.
El protocolo de De la Espriella amplía el uso de la fuerza, restringe el diálogo por parte de la policía, crea condiciones para la criminalización de sectores que participan en la movilización, así sea pacífica.
Entre 2019 y 2021 vivimos la intervención violenta del ESMAD en las movilizaciones. Muchos jóvenes fueron heridos e incluso asesinados.
Durante los cuatro años de nuestro gobierno primó el diálogo y eso permitió el ejercicio tranquilo y pacífico de la protesta. No hubo jóvenes muertos por disparos de la policía, no hubo falsos positivos, ni lesiones oculares con cilindros de gases lacrimógenos, La fuerza pública privilegió el diálogo y la garantía de la protesta, como debe ser.
De la Espriella pretende que retornemos al pasado en materia de protesta social.
Hoy saldremos a las calles de manera pacífica, multitudinaria, decidida, y digna.
No vamos a permitir la arbitrariedad de un régimen autoritario. Tampoco vamos a permitir que los derechos, la democracia y la vida sean destruidas por De la Espriella.
— Iván Cepeda Castro (@IvanCepedaCast) October 14, 2026
The reasons for discontent with the new government
The criticism, however, is not directed at a single measure but at a series of decisions and announcements that have raised concerns among opposition groups, beyond the decree regulating protests.
In education, teachers are demanding answers about their working conditions, healthcare for educators — a crisis that developed under the Petro administration — and the reconstruction of schools damaged by the Aug. 10 earthquake. Indigenous organizations, meanwhile, are defending the autonomy of their territories and challenging government initiatives they consider contrary to their interests.
On security issues, organizers are also questioning the legislative initiatives announced by the government on counterterrorism, in addition to criticizing the new decree regulating protests.
Against this backdrop, the organizers of Wednesday’s protests argue that mobilization is a legitimate way to demand answers and warn against decisions they consider harmful to social rights. However, the range of demands also presents a challenge: getting different organizations to turn their individual grievances into a common political front against De la Espriella.
A decree that changes police response
The main source of tension on Wednesday is Decree 1525, which changes the protocols governing authorities’ response to public demonstrations and takes effect the same day.
The regulation allows authorities to act against those committing violent acts without waiting for dialogue with the broader group of demonstrators to conclude. It also establishes mediation procedures, criteria for the use of force and humanitarian corridors intended to ensure the passage of ambulances, medical personnel and essential supplies.
The government presents the regulation as a way to protect both those demonstrating peacefully and citizens who need to travel or access basic services. De la Espriella has insisted that the right to protest does not protect assaults, property destruction or roadblocks that disrupt essential services.
The opposition, by contrast, questions the latitude the regulation gives security forces and warns of the risk of disproportionate interventions. The debate pits two principles against each other that are not necessarily incompatible: protecting protest as a democratic right and preventing its exercise from infringing on other people’s rights.
The decree’s implementation will be closely watched by social organizations and human rights advocates, who will monitor the police response to any potential incidents.
Beyond the protest: a first test for both sides
The scale of the marches will provide an initial measure of the opposition’s ability to mobilize its supporters since losing power barely two months ago, following a presidential election that exposed Colombia’s political polarization and division into two blocs with virtually equal electoral strength.
The day will also allow the government’s ability to manage a protest called by its political opponents to be assessed, including whether it can apply the new rules without undermining democratic guarantees. The government has announced a Unified Command Post under presidential supervision to coordinate the authorities’ response.
With the 2027 regional elections on the horizon, the mobilization could offer an early indication of how opposition forces are reorganizing as they seek to regain local and regional power next year and explore potential electoral alliances ahead of the 2030 presidential election.
Beyond the number of people taking to the streets on Wednesday, the opposition is seeking an initial confrontation with the government on terrain where it feels comfortable — a strategy it repeatedly employed when it held power under President Petro.
Meanwhile, the first test in the streets will help shape the next steps in an electoral calendar that never stops in Colombia.
