Petro calls referendum on labor reform despite opposition by Colombia’s Senate – Colombia News

Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro further escalated tensions with the opposition by signing a decree calling a referendum on his labor reform proposals without Senate approval.

The decree that calls for elections on August 7, the first day of the congressional year, to force Congress into approving the labor reform.

In a post on social media platform X, the president said that the decree was sent to the Constitutional Court to decide whether or not it is constitutional and thus binding.

In response, the opposition asked the Council of State, Colombia’s highest administrative court, to declare the decree null and void because it ignored a disputed Senate vote that rejected the referendum.

Petro and the opposition have been at odds about the labor reform that was submitted to Congress in 2023 and largely approved by the House of Representatives earlier this year.

The Senate’s social policy commission, which is dominated by the opposition, voted to sink the reform, however.

The president subsequently announced a referendum, which would force both the House and the Senate to approve the labor reform.

Colombia’s government presents questions for labor reform referendum

The Senate rejected this referendum last month in a disputed vote considered “fraudulent” by the government and “violated due legislative process,” according to a Bogota court.

Consequently, the government argued, the president could call the referendum, which would eventually trigger a Constitutional Court ruling on the pending dispute.

The opposition called the president’s refusal to acknowledge the Senate decision a “coup d’état” and a “direct violation of the constitution,” and sued the government before the State Council.

“It’s a coup d’état”: Petro’s labor referendum draws ire of Colombia’s opposition parties

While tensions with the Senate escalated, Petro has been trying to mobilize his base and called on his supporters to create campaign offices to promote a “Yes” vote in the referendum.

Labor unions that are largely in favor of the reforms have additionally called for strikes to pressure politicians and voters to approve the labor reform.