Was the national strike against the government's social reforms a failure?

Between Wednesday 29 and Thursday 29 May , the national strike was held to support the social reforms of the Gustavo Petro government . These days were led by the labor unions and had representation from the Executive Branch, with the presence of the Minister of Labor, Antonio Sanguino , among others.

But how successful were the protests? While the government praised the call for action these days, unions pointed out that the demonstrations had a "weak" impact .

The union position

The National Federation of Merchants (Fenalco) stated that it carried out continuous monitoring of the country during the two days of the strike, through all its branches, and affirmed that citizens opted " for common sense and responsibility in the face of this call ."

(You can read: National strike ends: low presence of protesters in Plaza de Bolívar, in Bogotá ).

" The protests, far from generating massive support, highlighted the growing distance between Colombians and the discourses that promote confrontation and instability ," said Jaime Alberto Cabal, president of Fenalco .

The executive continued by stating that people are no longer “ believing stories ” and that “ the national strike was a complete failure .”

" Colombians are more interested in working, starting new businesses, and getting ahead than in joining political mobilizations that only generate uncertainty and harm the national economy ," Cabal added.

Finally, he pointed to President Gustavo Petro and commented that even if he now denies it, " it was he himself who called the strike, in an attempt to pressure the country's democratic institutions to approve the referendum in particular. However, the weak impact of the mobilization demonstrates that citizens are not willing to play along with strategies that seek to divide, rather than build ."

The Government's position

For his part, the Minister of Labor, Antonio Sanguino, participated in the popular town hall meeting in Plaza de Bolívar in Bogotá, and asserted that the referendum is going ahead. " This is the lifeline for social reforms and the guarantee that it will be the people, through direct democracy, who will defend them and make them a reality ."

(You can read: Labor reform: increasing apprentice salaries would reduce their hiring ).

He also noted that labor reform remains alive thanks to social pressure and made it clear that the government is not shying away from the debate in Congress.

The labor reform has already been approved in its third debate in Congress and will move on to its fourth and final debate in the Senate plenary session. It has until June 20th to receive approval and proceed to presidential approval .

PORTFOLIO