Colombian President Gustavo Petro warned in his final Independence Day military parade speech that he will convene a general and indefinite strike if the incoming government of Abelardo de la Espriella repeals the labor reform or reverses the agrarian reform after taking office on August 7.

Petro argued that social mobilization must become the primary mechanism for opposing the new administration, urging unions, peasant organizations, Indigenous groups, and popular movements to peacefully take to the streets to defend the reforms enacted over his four-year term.

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Opposition, he stated, must be exercised in the streets with resistance and peace, but it must also be forceful. Addressing the potential repeal of the hourly-work decree that he said ends the labor reform that created stability, Petro asserted that the response would be a permanent general strike involving millions of Colombian workers – not merely shouting or waving flags.

El tigre no existe en América libre, los pocos que hay están enjaulados en zoológicos.

El felino americano más grande se llama jaguar

Estamos en la tierra del jaguar y hombres y mujeres del pueblo seremos jaguares para defdnder la reforma social. pic.twitter.com/wFirv1ONa0

— Gustavo Petro (@petrogustavo) July 20, 2026

The president clarified that his call does not refer to a production strike, which he acknowledged is permitted under the Constitution. However, he warned that if the incoming government topples labor stabilities and working conditions won during his tenure, a general and indefinite strike will take place.

He also noted that if the agrarian reform is violently dismantled over the peasantry and the remaining 600,000 hectares are stolen, a national agrarian strike will follow.

Petro indicated that he will continue to participate in political life from the opposition after handing over power on August 7.

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