Colombia’s labor unions participate in 48-hour strike in support of president’s labor referendum

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BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Colombia’s labor unions on Wednesday began a 48-hour strike in support of a referendum proposed by President Gustavo Petro to let voters to decide whether to overhaul the country’s labor laws.

The work stoppage was in response to a direct call from Petro, who has argued that Congress is working against the interest of workers by repeatedly blocking his efforts to reform labor regulations. The referendum, whose questions would include whether workdays should be limited to eight hours, has become the crux of long-running tensions between the executive and legislative branches.

After Congress rejected Petro’s labor reform twice, most recently in March, he sent lawmakers a 12-question referendum proposal on May 1. Two weeks later, the legislative body voted 49-47 against the measure, prompting Petro to accuse lawmakers of fraud and eventually calling on workers to demonstrate in favor of his proposal.

“We are telling the Senate that it cannot continue legislating against the working class,” Fabio Arias, president of the United Workers’ Central, said in a statement. “For this reason, we demand that the referendum be approved as a real mechanism for restoring rights.”

Arias’ union hoped to get at least 3 million workers to participate in the strike.

Unions members on Wednesday took to the streets in Colombia’s major cities. In the capital, Bogota, some protesters blocked public bus lanes, impeding the movement of thousands of people, according to the mayor’s office.

“I’m mobilizing because I feel that my rights have been violated,” Yeimy Cante Toro, a member of the union of workers from non-governmental organizations, said as she demonstrated in Bogota.

A day earlier, Interior Minister Armando Benedetti said Petro will issue a decree on June 1 to authorize the referendum if lawmakers fail to vote on it again.

The disagreements between Petro and Congress date back to the start of his term in 2022, but they have heightened as he seeks to consolidate his legacy ahead of next year’s legislative and presidential elections. Petro, Colombia’s first leftist president, is eligible for reelection.

“Congress gave the government a lifeline at a moment of great weakness by rejecting the labor reform,” said Mauricio Velásquez, a political science professor at the University of Los Andes. “It gave (Petro) the opportunity to repeat the strategy of using legislative failure as a way to stir up the political arena.”