Bogota. The Colombian trade union federation Central Unitaria de Trabajadores (CUT) is mobilizing a march next Wednesday to support the most important reforms of President Gustavo Petro’s government.
In a press statement, CUT President Francisco Maltés called on students, employees, pensioners and civil organizations to take to the streets on June 7 “to defend the social reforms that the government has presented to Congress” and the ” encountered various obstacles due to the conservative sectors that oppose them”.
The union wants to ask Congress and the responsible Seventh Commission to pass the proposed legislation, which “contains the most important demands of the trade union movement of the last 30 years,” said Maltés. It is about the legal anchoring of a reduction in private shares in the health system, the redistribution of land that is not used productively, the reform of the labor, pension and judicial systems and the disarmament of all irregular groups.
The debate on the social reforms is becoming “more and more critical, on the one hand because of the media campaign waged against them by the economic and political forces of the neoliberal establishment and the far right, and on the other hand because of the short time left for their adoption, thanks to the Delayed by various economic, political and media forces,” the union leader continued.
With 546,000 members, the CUT is the largest trade union federation in Colombia. Between 1987 and 1992, almost 800 of its members belonged to it, according to investigations carried out during the wave of persecution against left-wing organizations at the time murdered become.
However explained President Petro on his Twitter account that he will join the march on Wednesday. He invites those who voted for change and “want justice in Colombia” to demonstrate in all communities.
Because of opposition to his reform plans in Congress, Petro had already terminated the alliance with several factions of the traditional parties (america21 reported). He is increasingly relying on the support of grassroots movements and called on them to mobilize in his speech on May 1st.
Indigenous organizations had already called for a demonstration in Bogotá on May 4th to support the social reforms of the “government of change”. Hundreds of members of the Indigenous Guard (guardia indígena) from different departments gathered himself before the congress in the capital.
They also called on MEPs to support the 280 mandatory articles agreed in the previous consultation on the National Development Plan for the next four years. This is currently being debated in the legislature.