Mass Mobilization Against the New Right-Wing Government
Thousands of citizens across Colombia marched through city streets on Wednesday to protest the policies of right-wing President Abelardo de la Espriella. The demonstrations, which proceeded peacefully, represent the opposition’s first major show of force since De la Espriella assumed office in August. He had promised to combat crime and eliminate „narco-terrorists.”
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EU Summit Opens With Kaja Kallas’s Key SpeechUnions, indigenous Colombians, students, and feminists gathered for a rally in Bogotá, led by former left-wing President Gustavo Petro. „It will collapse!” some protesters shouted, referring to the country’s most right-wing government in decades.
Fear of Losing Hard-Won Progress
Petro led Colombia’s first left-wing administration, which expanded free access to public universities, oversaw record growth in the minimum wage, and improved working conditions for employees. The left fears these gains are now at risk from his successor. De la Espriella is a US-backed millionaire, part of the US-backed right-wing wave sweeping Latin America.
„I feel we have no guarantees and that the little we have achieved... we are on the verge of losing it,” said 32-year-old professor Ester Guerra to AFP in Bogotá.
A Divisive Political Figure
De la Espriella is one of Colombia’s most divisive political figures in the modern era. Conservatives applauded him for waging war against guerrilla groups that refused to lay down arms a decade after the powerful FARC rebel army was disbanded. Critics accuse him of endangering the country’s fragile peace process, threatening minority rights, and displaying an authoritarian tendency.
„Everything we fought for so long is now at risk,” said 44-year-old public servant Unzo Vargas, who protested in Bogotá with a rainbow flag for the LGBTQ community.
Decree Empowers Authorities Against Protests
The evening before the marches, De la Espriella issued a decree granting authorities greater powers to act against demonstrations in cases of property damage or street blockades. „Violence, vandalism, and blockades that trample on the rights of millions of citizens will not be tolerated,” he wrote on X. His threat to use force against protesters was sharply criticized by opponents as an attempt to silence critics.
„They are trying to scare the population so people don’t come out to protest, but it is a constitutional right,” said 40-year-old professor Oscar Perez.
Foreign Policy and US Ties
Protesters also expressed strong disapproval of De la Espriella’s foreign policy. A lawyer by training, he restored diplomatic relations with Israel, which Petro had severed due to the country’s offensive in Gaza. He also announced controversial plans to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
De la Espriella is also an enthusiastic US ally. Protesters burned a US flag on the streets of the capital, while others waved Palestinian flags. „Yankees go home” read a sign held up by a protester in the second city of Medellín. Left-wing Senator Ivan Cepeda, who lost the second round of elections in June to De la Espriella by less than one percentage point, also joined the march in Bogotá.
