Colombian opposition groups launch protests against cuts to the La Esperanza budget

Former President Gustavo Petro joins thousands of protesters in Bogotá in a march against austerity measures and relations with Israel.

A coalition of opposition parties, labor unions, indigenous groups and social movements in Colombia demonstrated against a series of economic and security policies advanced under right-wing president Abelardo de la Sprilla.

Thousands of people marched in major cities, including the capital Bogota, on Wednesday, the first day of a nationwide campaign led by the country's leftist former president Gustavo Petro.

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End of List Under Petro, Colombia increased access to public universities, raised the minimum wage, and improved labor protections for workers.

Opposition groups say many of those reforms are now under threat, as the dela Sprilla government welcomes cuts to government programs.

Colombia's Congress has until Tuesday to approve its budget for fiscal year 2027. But as part of the new administration's austerity measures, de la Sprilla's allies are making proposals to cut government spending.

Della Sprilla has also pledged to move Colombia away from his predecessor's leftist leanings toward more free-market policies more in line with those of US President Donald Trump.

The government introduced new rules for policing ahead of demonstrations and gave law enforcement broad powers to deal more quickly with protesters who vandalize public property or disrupt access to essential services.

"The right to protest is respected, but there is no right to vandalize, attack security forces, attack others or create chaos," Della Sprilla said in a statement on social media announcing the decree.

He added: "Violence, vandalism and siege that violate the rights of millions of citizens will not be tolerated."

Indigenous communities and political groups in rural parts of the country sometimes block roads as part of their protests, blocking traffic that sometimes lasts for weeks.

But critics have pointed out that this week's protests have been largely peaceful.

Many chanted "it will fall", a reference to the apparent failure of the de la Sprilla government.

A former defense attorney and millionaire businessman, de la Sprilla was a political newcomer when he ran for president this year on a far-right ticket.

He was elected by a narrow margin in the second round of the June elections. He campaigned on a hard-line platform to address crime, immigration and the economy, including proposals to deport millions of immigrants from Colombia and shrink the size of government.

De la Sprilla also pledged to roll back reforms made under Petro, Colombia's first leftist president. He came to power in August.

Petro, a former left-wing activist turned politician, took part in Wednesday's demonstration. In this year's elections, he was not eligible for re-election to the presidential race; Colombian law currently limits the president to one term.

He wrote on social networks that the mobilizations were a wake-up call "two months after the start of a tyrannical and imposed government".

Protesters also expressed concern about cuts to labor protections and health care under the new administration.

"I feel like we have no guarantees and what little we've gained ... we're about to lose," teacher Esther Guerra, 32, told AFP in Bogota.

Some demonstrators also opposed the actions of the new government towards Israel. Several people carried Palestinian flags as a sign of solidarity.

On Wednesday, Della Sprilla's government opened Colombia's embassy in Jerusalem, a controversial move since Israel and Palestine both occupy parts of the city.

Petro was a staunch supporter of Palestine and severed ties with Israel over its genocidal war against Gaza. But Della Sprilla has taken steps to restore the broken ties since taking office.

The protest drew attention from protesters like Jimena Rodriguez, a 20-year-old student, as an attempt to ignore Israel's accusations of abuse of Palestinians.

Some pointed out that Della Sprilla's actions towards Israel mirror those of Trump, who moved the US embassy to Jerusalem in 2018 during his first term as president.

President dela Sprilla "just wants to hand over the country to the United States and to Israel," Rodriguez said. "I sense dark days ahead."