Petro’s party calls for general strike if Colombia’s senate sinks labor referendum – Colombia News

The political party of President Gustavo Petro called on Colombia to shut down the economy if the Senate sinks a referendum that seeks to restore labor rights.

In a post on social media platform X, the Colombia Humana party said that “the people can’t be ignored.”

If Congress blocks the referendum filed yesterday by President Gustavo Petro, the country should respond with force. A general strike isn’t just legitimate, it’s necessary. The people can’t be ignored.

Colombia Humana

Petro formally filed the referendum in Congress on Thursday after addressing tens of thousands of people who had taken part in Labor Day marches in the capital Bogota.

During the speech, the president called on the people to vote any Senator who opposes the referendum out of office in the 2026 elections.

Petro files labor referendum in Colombia’s Congress

Colombia Humana, which has strong ties to Colombia’s labor unions, added pressure on Congress by threatening lawmakers with a strike that could shut down the national economy.

The labor unions, who openly support Petro’s referendum and labor reform proposal, did not immediately back Colombia Humana’s strike threat.

In the Senate, Colombia Humana and the rest of Petro’s government coalition lack majority support that would have allowed them to push through the labor reform.

In order to get a majority vote to pass, the government and its coalition need support from independent and mainly liberal senators who haven’t joined the conservative and far-right opposition block.

If the Senate fails to vote on the referendum within a month, the president will be allowed to order the organization of the referendum by decree.

Petro’s labor reform seeks to revoke neoliberal labor laws that dramatically limited labor rights and seeks legislation that would allow women to have the right to menstrual sick leaves.

The reform was sunk in a 14-senator commission with the support of the opposition and independent evangelical lawmakers, who claimed that the reform would harm job creation.