🗞️ Last Thursday, May 1st, there were demonstrations across the country to mark International Labour Day.
As thousands took to the streets, President Gustavo Petro used the occasion to launch his campaign in favour of the upcoming constitutional referendum. After the government labour reform failed to pass into law in Congress, this year’s plebiscite hopes to push through the enactment of the measures.
On Thursday, twelve referendum questions were submitted to the Senate for approval. The Senate now has 30 days to approve them, then, at the ballot box, the public will be consulted on the new provisions which, if approved by a minimum of 13.5 million votes, will be expedited into law.
The proposals include a maximum working day of eight hours between 6am and 6pm; double pay for Sundays and public holidays; menstrual and medical leave; the formalisation of labour for mothers and artists; and increased labour rights for agricultural workers.
57% of citizens are in favour of the new referendum, and 40% are against, according to a poll this week by Cifras y Conceptos. 43% said they were likely to participate, while 38% said they were not at all likely to do so.
The poll showed approval ratings of up to 94% for the proposed questions, the lowest being 75% in response to a provision about third-party contracting.
Petro took the opportunity to deliver a speech to the thousands gathered in the Plaza de Bolívar in Bogotá, in which he addressed those in the Senate who might reject the proposals, saying, "If you vote ‘No’ to the referendum, the people will rise up and overthrow you… Anyone who votes ‘No’ or does not want these reforms is a slave-owning HP.” HP stands for ‘hijo de puta’ – a commonly-used expletive in Colombia.
As part of his address, the President also unsheathed the sword of Simón Bolívar, a historical relic, and held it up in front of the crowd as a symbol of popular power and liberationist struggle.
Petro's approval rating has risen to 37%, up 5% from February this year, when the last poll was taken. His disapproval rating dropped from 63% to 57% in the same period, this according to another poll published this week by Invamer.
66% of respondents believe that things are getting worse, and 21% believe that things are getting better. Total Peace, the president's flagship policy of simultaneous negotiations with all armed groups, is seeing similar ratings: 67% say the policy is going badly, compared to 25% who believe the opposite.
🗞️ And in peace process news, the government and a FARC dissident guerrilla group have reached an agreement for a ‘temporary location zone’ (ZUT) in Tibú, in the northeastern department of Norte de Santander - as part of ongoing peace negotiations.
The 33rd Front of the Estado Mayor de Bloques (EMB), commanded by alias Calarcá, have agreed to concentrate in a rural area of Tibú, with the aim of transitioning to civilian life. Within these zones, arrest warrants are suspended, including those issued for extradition.
Tibú is in the Catatumbo area, a coca-growing enclave which has been the epicentre of the biggest humanitarian crisis in Colombia in the last two decades, caused in part by the EMB’s clashes with the guerrilla group Ejército de Liberación Nacional (ELN), among others.
🗞️ Meanwhile, a recent surge of violence against the national security forces has killed more than 50 military personnel so far this year. In addition to a spike in deaths of soldiers, a new so-called ‘pistol plan’ led by the armed group Clan del Golfo – has claimed the lives of more than 15 uniformed police officers within two weeks.
The Ministry of Defence has suggested the surge of violence is a response to the killing of alias Chirimoya, a regional Clan del Golfo leader based on the Caribbean coast.
Many of those killed have been unarmed - off-duty or on leave - and the Ministry of Defence has warned officers not to wear their uniforms outside of working hours and to change their routines.
Police officers will now be allowed to carry service weapons at home and off-duty according to new guidelines announced this week.
🗞️ And over the weekend, the ELN declared a 72-hour armed lockdown in the department of Chocó, supposedly to protect civilians from ongoing clashes with the Clan del Golfo group.
The army deployed more than three thousand soldiers to the area to minimise the effects of the lockdown, which affected an estimated 32,000 people.
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