Colombians, fearing for rights, march against right-wing president

Demonstrators chant slogans during nationwide protests against president Abelardo de la Espriella, organised by labour unions, teachers’ organisations, student groups and opposition parties. (AFP pic) BOGOTA: Thousands of Colombians took to the streets of cities across the country on Wednesday to protest the policies of new right-wing President Abelardo de la Espriella.

The demonstrations mark the first show of force by the opposition since de la Espriella took office in August vowing to combat crime and eradicate "narco-terrorists."

Trade unionists, Indigenous Colombians, students and feminists gathered at a rally in Bogota led by former left-wing president Gustavo Petro.

"It's going to fall!" demonstrators chanted, referring to Colombia's most right-wing government in decades.

What began as peaceful protests during the day grew heated in some areas as night fell, with riot police deployments, water cannons and tear gas.

Opposition senator Maria Eugenia Londono said on X that "heavy repressive deployments" had been reported in various spots around the country, from downtown Bogota to Popayan, Cauca and Ibague, Tolima.

Bogota Councilor Ana Teresa Bernal posted on X that riot police "attacked" groups of young people and musicians with "stun grenades and water cannon".

No guarantees

Petro headed Colombia's first-ever leftist administration, which expanded free access to public universities, oversaw record increases to the minimum wage and improved labor conditions for employees.

Leftists fear that these advances are under threat from his successor, a US-backed millionaire who is part of a US-backed right-wing wave sweeping Latin America.

"I feel like we have no guarantees and that the little we did obtain...we're about to lose," teacher Ester Guerra, 32, told AFP in Bogota.

De la Espriella is one of the most divisive Colombian leaders of modern times.

He has been cheered by conservatives for taking the fight to guerrilla groups that refused to lay down arms a decade ago when the powerful FARC rebel army disbanded.

His critics accuse him of endangering the country's fragile peace process, threatening minority rights and of showing an authoritarian streak.

"Everything we have fought for for so long is at risk today," said Unzo Vargas, a 44-year-old civil servant, who protested in Bogota with a rainbow flag for the LGBTQ community.

Fear and constitutional rights

On the eve of the marches, de la Espriella issued a decree giving authorities greater powers to crack down on demonstrations in the event of damage to property or blocking of streets.

"Violence, vandalism and blockades that trample on the rights of millions of citizens will not be tolerated," he wrote on X.

The president's threat to unleash force on demonstrators was slammed by his opponents as an attempt to silence critics.

"They're trying to frighten the population so people don't go out to protest, but it's a constitutional right," said Oscar Perez, a 40-year-old teacher.

Protesters also voiced strong disapproval of de la Espriella's foreign policy.

A trained lawyer, he has restored diplomatic relations with Israel, which Petro broke off over the country's offensive in Gaza, and announced controversial plans to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital.

De la Espriella is also an enthusiastic US ally, and protesters burned an American flag in the streets of the capital while others waved Palestinian flags.

"Yankees go home," read a placard held aloft by a demonstrator in Colombia's second city of Medellin.

Left-wing Senator Ivan Cepeda, who lost a June election runoff to de la Espriella by less than a percentage point, also attended the march in Bogota.