Social Mobilization: The 12 Marches Called by Colombia’s Petro During His Presidency

Since taking office as president of Colombia, Gustavo Petro has viewed the streets as an extension of the national political arena for social mobilization. Today’s call, this Wednesday, for demonstrations in all the country’s main squares, in response to what the government has described as threats of interference by the United States administration, is not an isolated event but rather the most recent of 12 major marches that have marked three years of his administration.

This strategy of taking to the streets has served both to exert political pressure and to consolidate support during moments of institutional tension, in a national context where disputes over social reforms and the battle over the political narrative have been constant.

The mobilizations called by Petro have shared a clear common thread: They seek to give social force to proposals that have at times encountered resistance from other state institutions or sectors of society.

From defending his ambitious plans for change — especially embodied in proposed social reforms — to rejecting external criticism, these marches have become a tool to highlight causes, confront detractors, and seek legitimacy in an increasingly polarized political landscape.

Social mobilization: The 12 marches called by Colombia’s Petro during his Presidency

The sequence of mobilizations led by President Gustavo Petro began shortly after he came to power, in November 2022, when he organized a public rally to commemorate the first 100 days of his government. On that occasion, the mobilization was seen as a response to opposition protests that had emerged over rising fuel prices and other economic adjustments, demonstrating early on the president’s willingness to contest public space as part of his political strategy.

On that occasion, the Petro government sought to socially legitimize its controversial decision to stop subsidizing gasoline, a move that saved the state millions of dollars but also revealed a series of increases in gasoline and diesel prices that drew considerable criticism from the opposition and parts of society.

Throughout 2023, this strategy of projecting an image of massive social participation alongside the government intensified. With a pro-government coalition that quickly fragmented in Congress — and the consequent loss of the support needed to pass the administration’s legislative proposals — the executive branch turned to marches at key moments in parliamentary debate to press for reforms it considered essential, such as those related to health care, labor, and pensions.

These were massive demonstrations, some with tens of thousands of participants, that showcased the political strength of social, labor, and Indigenous sectors willing to back structural change in the country.

2025: The social thermometer for a potential National Constituent Assembly

Mobilizations continued in 2024, but it was last year when they became particularly significant. With Petro facing resistance from part of Congress, the president increasingly appealed to citizen participation through demonstrations intended to support proposals for popular consultations and to open the door to a Constituent Assembly.

These calls aimed to counter legislative refusal and give voice to social sectors backing a transformation of the constitution to incorporate broader labor, health, and social rights, at a time when legislative rejection of these reforms forced the government to rethink its strategies.

In addition to fighting for these internal reforms, the marches of 2025 also reflected the government’s concern over external pressure. The inclusion of President Petro on the so-called Clinton List by the United States, an episode that heightened diplomatic tensions, was another reason to call supporters of national sovereignty and political independence into the streets.

In this sense, the mobilizations served to project an image of popular backing in the face of international criticism and perceptions of foreign interference. However, many of these demonstrations were met by parallel rallies in favor of the opposition and against the government.

A response to the latest diplomatic crisis

Today’s mobilization comes after the military operation in Venezuela that last Saturday ended with the capture and transfer to New York of the country’s then president, Nicolas Maduro. Subsequent statements by President Trump and his Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, placed the spotlight on the Colombian government and, once again, on its president.

Trump issued remarks warning of possible operations on Colombian territory, once again linking the country to an alleged drug trafficking network — the justification cited by the White House for arresting Maduro. Faced with this scenario, President Petro made a public call to defend national sovereignty and promote citizen support in public squares across the country, in what he interprets as a defense of democracy against external threats.

“I’ll be waiting for you at four in the afternoon in all the country’s public squares. To stand with the president in defense of national sovereignty,” the Colombian president wrote today, just hours before the call, which is expected around 4:00 p.m. local Colombian time.

Los espero a las cuatro de la tarde en todas las plazas públicas del país. A acompañar al presidente para defender la soberanía nacional. pic.twitter.com/3DpDbHKnvM

— Gustavo Petro (@petrogustavo) January 7, 2026

This use of the streets as a stage for political legitimation highlights a particular facet of the Petro administration. Beyond the usual engagement with representative institutions, the president has turned to social mobilization to build a narrative of popular support when he faces political obstacles or internal and external pressures.

Whether in defense of structural reforms or of sovereignty in the face of international players, marches have become a central element of his style of governing.

With just a few months to go before elections that will decide whether the country opts for a continuity government or returns to traditional conservative policies, amid barely disguised pressure from Washington, Petro seeks to keep social tension alive, as an example of his repeated popular call as a demonstration of support that, between May and June, he will have to reaffirm at the polls.

The truth is that, with 12 marches called in three years, Gustavo Petro has turned the public square into a constant thermometer of the support and tensions running through Colombia in times of internal change and geopolitical reconfiguration.