President Petro’s Civic Day Decree in Colombia Sparks Criticism

President of Colombia Gustavo Petro, in an event held on April 18, declared the third Friday of April each year as the ‘Civic Day of Peace for Nature’ amidst the water supply crisis facing the capital and other sectors of the country. The decision has been criticized by various sectors who relate the motivations of the decree to the upcoming protests against the Petro government this weekend, as well as to the emblematic date of the now-defunct M-19 guerrilla, in which the president was a member, and coinciding with his birthday on April 19th.

The decision was justified as a way to raise awareness about the effects of climate change and its negative impacts, especially concerning the droughts leading to water rationing in the capital. The decree 0500 of April 18, 2024, stipulates that the civic day will apply to national entities, except those providing essential public services such as Police, public health, mobility, security, and disaster prevention. Other authorities and private companies will decide whether to implement it or not.

Petro’s Civic Day linked to dissuading opposition protests

This Sunday, April 21, nationwide marches are scheduled, driven by the opposition and other non-political sectors who feel distant from the first left-wing administration. Criticisms that the decree aims to dissolve the marches were swift, such as the statement from Diego Santos, a march organizer, opposition member, and columnist for the newspaper El Tiempo, who told Semana magazine: “What Maduro and Chavez did on numerous occasions, Petro is applying that same playbook, Petro knows that big steps are coming here and one way to dilute the march is to say, ‘Go on vacation and don’t be in Bogota’ (…) The main reason for calling this day is to dissolve the march.”

In most cities across the country, both municipal governments and citizens maintained their work activities as usual, such as Medellin Mayor Federico Gutierrez, who expressed through his X account: “Tomorrow in our Medellin municipality, we will not halt activities (…) More than a civic day, we need acts of civility in our daily lives.”

Other sectors have criticized the measure as improvised and implemented with other motivations, such as the National Association of Energy Generating Companies, which told Noticias Caracol that while it could lead to minimal consumption reduction, it is not favorable for the country’s economy. On the other hand, the President of the National Federation of Merchants (Fenalco), Jaime Cabal, criticized the decision, associating it with the commemoration of the M-19 anniversary.

However, other political authorities support the decree, such as Senator Maria Jose Pizarro, who said: “I think it’s a reasonable measure, now we will have to analyze the impacts in the regions where this civic day was adopted.”