Colombian Social and Grassroots Organizations Call for National Mobilization to Support Popular Consultation and Peace with Social Justice
National Assembly for Social Reforms urges marches against violence and for social justice in Colombia.Photo: EFE.
June 9, 2025 Hour: 9:38 pm
Amid escalating violence and political polarization, Colombia’s National Assembly for Social Reforms, Peace, and Unity,a coalition of social, union, and grassroots groups,calls for nationwide marches to defend the popular consultation and demand peace with social justice, denouncing attacks on social leaders and urging democratic dialogue.
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In response to a surge in violence and human rights violations targeting social leaders and political activists, the National Assembly for Social Reforms, Peace, and Unity,a coalition of union, grassroots, ethnic organizations, and alternative political forces,has issued a call for a national day of mobilization.
Scheduled for Wednesday, June 11, the marches will take place in all capital cities, including Bogotá, where demonstrators will gather from 9:00 a.m. at the National Park to Plaza Bolívar. This mobilization aims to support the popular consultation and defend the right to life and peace with social justice.
The Assembly’s statement highlights the worsening violence fueled by reactionary and far-right sectors seeking to derail Colombia’s progressive transformations. The document condemns recent attacks, including the assault on Senator and presidential candidate Miguel Uribe Turbay in Bogotá, and the violent deaths of Indigenous leaders Jorge Sánchez and Aurelio Araujo Hernández along with his bodyguards.
With 68 social leaders murdered so far in 2025, the Assembly denounces the alliance between far-right factions, drug traffickers, and paramilitaries controlling many regions of the country. These attacks echo the dark history of political violence against movements such as the Patriotic Union and the Colombian Communist Party, as well as the assassinations of presidential candidates Jaime Pardo Leal, Bernardo Jaramillo Ossa, and Luis Carlos Galán Sarmiento.
The most recent events in the national political context highlight the worsening rates of violence and the violation of human rights, as part of the radicalization and polarization imposed by reactionary sectors and the far right in Colombia. These groups resort to attacks and the assassination of citizens to prevent the progress of the Government of Change’s initiatives and the political, social, and economic transformations the country needs.
In this context, the various union, social, grassroots, ethnic, and alternative political organizations, members of the National Assembly for Social Reforms, Peace, and Unity, denounce and condemn the attack perpetrated against Senator and presidential candidate Miguel Uribe Turbay, which took place on Saturday, June 7, in the Modelia neighborhood of Bogotá. We express our solidarity with the leader and his family and friends.
Defending Democracy Through Dialogue and Social Struggle
Amid the current political polarization, the Assembly calls for open, respectful dialogue that rejects violence and political repression as means to resolve conflicts. The National Day of Mobilization will also back the Popular Consultation, a grassroots initiative seeking democratic approval of 16 progressive questions related to labor and health reforms.
The statement explicitly rejects the proposed labor counter-reform pushed by traditional political elites and business interests, which threatens to roll back hard-won social rights. The Assembly warns against legislative maneuvers conducted without public consent, underscoring the need for popular participation in shaping Colombia’s future.
The planned marches will include six caravans converging on major cities such as Bogotá, Medellín, Barranquilla, Cali, Pereira, and Bucaramanga, symbolizing the broad coalition of social forces committed to peace and justice. This mobilization represents a vital expression of popular power confronting entrenched reactionary forces and defending Colombia’s path toward social reforms and lasting peace.
Author: YCL
Source: teleSUR