October 15, 2026
Bogota October 14, 2026. fotos Fernando Vergara/AP
Thousands of protesters were repressed on Wednesday in the streets of Bogotá and Colombia’s major cities during the first national strike against the administration of President Abelardo de la Espriella.
Rallies took place in more than a dozen provincial capitals and municipalities, including Medellín, Cali, Barranquilla, Ibagué, Popayán, and Bucaramanga.
In Bogotá, four marches converged on Plaza de Bolívar amid a security deployment monitored by a Unified Command Post (PMU).
Meanwhile, in cities such as Medellín, the protests led to violent clashes between demonstrators and the Mobile Anti-Riot Squad (ESMAD), which used tear gas, rubber bullets, and armored vehicles, resulting in several arrests and reported attacks on the press.
Similarly, in Ibagué and Popayán, serious disturbances of public order and riots were reported following police interventions.
Human rights organizations, including the NGO Temblores, denounced the deployment of men armed with rifles on the rooftops of government buildings in the capital, describing it as a direct threat against the citizen mobilization.
The day of protest, called less than ten weeks before his inauguration, was in response to budget cuts, the administration’s first economic reforms, and the recent approval of a controversial public order protocol.
The mass mobilization brought together labor unions, teachers’ groups, college students, indigenous communities, LGBTI collectives, and feminist groups, joined by key opposition figures such as former President Gustavo Petro and Senator Iván Cepeda.
The protesters’ demands spanned labor, educational, and social issues, aimed at protecting achievements of the previous administration—such as free access to public universities and the increase in the minimum wage—in the face of what they described as a neoliberal shift.
Likewise, the march highlighted opposition to the restoration of diplomatic relations with Israel and U.S. interference in Colombia.
Public outrage intensified following the signing, just hours before the marches, of a government decree modifying police procedures at public gatherings.
While President De la Espriella justified the decree as a means to combat “urban terrorism”, the opposition and social organizations branded it an intimidating measure.
“They want to take us back to that time when fear ends up becoming the basis for the security forces’ arbitrary actions,” warned Colombian Senator Iván Cepeda.
Given the massive turnout at the protests, union sources announced that they are already working on a calendar of demonstrations for the coming months, which could escalate to a general strike in November.
Source: Telesur translation Resumen Latinoamericano – English