Colombia’s national strike fails to draw convincing crowds – Colombia News

The first day of a 48-hour national strike in support of labor reforms proposed by President Gustavo Petro failed to draw the crowds promised by labor unions.

In the capital Bogota, mass transit system Transmilenio temporarily closed approximately 20 stations because labor union activists and Petro supporters made traffic impossible.

In Cali, Cartagena, Barrancabermeja and Bucaramanga, local media reported road blocks in support of the national strike.

The protests caused minor inconveniences for commuters in the cities as the protest marches failed to draw the crowds the labor unions had hoped for.

In Bogota, only a few hundred of the thousands of people who mobilized throughout the capital made it to Bolivar Square, the political heart of Colombia.

Marches in major cities like Medellin and Cali drew thousands of protesters each, but not the “three to four million” expected by Colombia’s largest labor union, the CUT.

The turnout was a disappointment for the national government, which hoped that mass protests and strikes would support the government’s effort to push a far-reaching labor reform bill through Congress.

In fact, Interior Minister Armando Benedetti said last week that he hoped the labor unions would call a general strike, which would shut down the economy in support of the referendum and the government’s reform proposals.

The government and the labor unions are opposed by the Senate where a majority of lawmakers have persistently voted down Petro’s reform agenda.

Last week, the Senate voted down the president’s call for a referendum and decided to allow debates on a watered down labor reform proposal instead.