Thousands of demonstrators took to the streets of Bogotá on October 14 in a nationwide day of protest against the government of President Abelardo de la Espriella, two months after he took office on August 7. Trade unions, teachers, Indigenous organisations, political movements and social collectives joined the marches to challenge the government’s economic, labour and security policies.
Supporters of former leftist president Gustavo Petro were among those who gathered in the Plaza de Bolívar. Petro himself took part in the Bogotá march alongside opposition senator Iván Cepeda, El Espectador reported. Protests were also scheduled in Medellín and other major cities.
The demands ranged from labour rights and public education to teachers’ health conditions and the rights of Indigenous communities. Fabio Arias, president of the CUT trade union confederation, said the marches had been called to reject the government’s measures on labour rights, pension reform and the minimum wage, as well as changes to police protocols for demonstrations, according to La FM.
Those changes lie at the heart of a dispute over civil liberties. On October 13, the eve of the protests, De la Espriella signed Decree 1525, modifying a 2021 protocol on police action during demonstrations. The text establishes prioritising dialogue and mediation as a general rule, but states that this does not delay police action against individuals who commit physical violence. The president said on X that peaceful protest is respected but that violence, vandalism and blockades are not tolerated. Cepeda said the decree had been issued “to repress social protest.”
De la Espriella followed the protests from the Casa de Nariño. He thanked the National Union of Judicial Workers and Prosecutors for rejecting the marches, saying Colombia “cannot keep being held hostage by those who seek to paralyse it”, according to Semana.
The marches also severely disrupted Bogotá’s transport network. By around midday, TransMilenio said 200,538 passengers had been affected by operational changes, and that its tally would continue to be updated. Eight stations along Carrera 10 faced temporary closures and return manoeuvres. One march set out from Fontibón, in western Bogotá, at 6am bound for the Plaza de Bolívar. Heavy rain and hail fell on the square during the march.
Foreign policy, where the right-wing leader has broken sharply with his predecessor, has deepened the political divide. On September 8 in Barranquilla, De la Espriella and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced a roadmap built around rebuilding the country, recovering the economy and shielding the hemisphere, cementing a closer alignment with Washington. Two memorandums of understanding, on civil nuclear energy and critical minerals, were also signed.
Colombia also reinstated its free-trade agreement with Israel on October 13, reversing Petro’s decision to terminate it, and on October 14 reopened its embassy in Jerusalem, becoming the tenth country to do so. The moves unwind the diplomatic break Petro ordered in May 2024 over Israel’s controversial military campaign in Gaza.
Energy policy is another fault line. State oil company Ecopetrol went four years without signing new exploration contracts under Petro, whereas De la Espriella’s government is seeking to reactivate exploration and even to consider fracking, angering environmentalists across the country.
The protests also come as the government tries to contain a widening deficit. The Finance Ministry aims to cut next year’s shortfall to 7.2% of GDP, from a projected 9.4%, through a spending-cut bill, while the government has recently opened talks with the IMF that could lead to a programme mandating lower investment and less aid for the poorest.