The protests come because the nation reels from bombing assaults within the southwest and tried assassination of a senator.
Protests have been held in Colombia as supporters of left-wing President Gustavo Petro specific their assist for his proposed labour reform, with the nation rattled by an eruption of violence within the final week amid fears of a return to darker days of assassinations and bombings.
Massive numbers of individuals took to the streets of the capital, Bogota, and different cities throughout the nation on Wednesday to precise continued assist for a referendum on the reform proposed by the president, even because the Senate debates an alternate invoice.
The protests come as Colombia remains to be reeling from bombing assaults within the southwest of the nation that left seven lifeless and an tried assassination on conservative opposition senator, and presidential hopeful, Miguel Uribe Turbay at a marketing campaign rally in Bogota.
Within the metropolis of Cali, Colombia’s third largest and the centre of Tuesday’s bombing assaults, “there have been calls to droop these rallies” as a result of current bout of violence within the nation, stated Al Jazeera’s Alessandro Rampietti, reporting from Bogota.
“Nonetheless, individuals determined to come back out within the streets once more in assist of the federal government, rejecting the violence of the previous days,” stated Rampietti.
Bystanders have a look at the wreckage of a automotive after it exploded in entrance of the Metropolis Corridor in Corinto, Cauca division, Colombia, on June 10, 2025 (Joaquin Sarmiento/AFP)
Petro was in Cali on Wednesday morning to steer a safety assembly with native authorities and the army following Tuesday’s assaults. The president additionally stated they might be investigating potential connections between the bombing assaults and the try on Uribe’s life.
The 15-year-old boy, who police imagine was a “sicario” or hitman working for cash, is accused of making an attempt to assassinate Uribe and was additionally charged with carrying a firearm. He was formally charged on Tuesday and pleaded not responsible, the prosecutor’s workplace stated on Wednesday.
The hospital treating the senator stated Wednesday that “after 4 days, they’re lastly seeing some neurological enchancment, that he’s now extra steady however stays in crucial situation,” stated Rampietti. “This has been probably the most optimistic report that we’ve seen since he’s been delivered to the hospital.”
President Petro has expressed gratitude about Uribe’s bettering situation, Rampietti added.
The bombing assault was seemingly carried out by an armed group that splintered from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) rebels, based on the military and police.
Petro additionally participated within the rallies in Cali, the place he’s anticipated to signal a presidential decree ordering the referendum vote.
Within the meantime, the nation’s Senate was debating a distinct textual content of the labour reform that Petro has criticised and labour unions say doesn’t sufficiently advance employees’ rights.
The reforms in Petro’s invoice embrace elevated pay on Sundays and public holidays, altering the variety of weekly working hours and altering over-time hours, stated Rampietti.
The reform that’s being mentioned within the Senate will not be the reform that the federal government wish to see carried out, Jorge Restrepo, an economics professor at Javeriana College in Bogota, informed Al Jazeera.
“These demonstrations (in assist of Petro) search from the facet of the federal government to place stress on the Senate to incorporate some extra progressive parts within the reform.”
“I feel the federal government goes to be weakened politically, however the reform will undergo more than likely at this time within the Senate. We’ll must see if the federal government it’s pleased with what the Senate and the Chamber of Representatives agree afterward to finalise this reform,” concluded Restrepo.
Following the assault on Uribe, the senate initially determined to droop this week’s periods in his honour. Nonetheless, it reversed that call 24 hours later.
The Senate is “making an attempt to deliver it (the labour reform) to a vote” by Thursday, Rampietti added.
