Thousands of Colombians took to the streets on Thursday, February 19, 2026, in nationwide demonstrations called by President Gustavo Petro to defend his administration’s 23.7% minimum wage increase, which was provisionally suspended earlier this month by the Council of State, Colombia’s highest administrative court.
The protests, billed as a show of popular support for the government’s labor agenda, saw large crowds in Bogotá—where the marches converged on the historic Plaza de Bolívar—as well as significant turnouts in Cali, Medellín, Barranquilla, Cartagena, Bucaramanga, and other major cities. Organizers, including the Central Unitaria de Trabajadores (CUT), the country’s largest trade union confederation, and allied social movements representing Indigenous, Afro-Colombian, and peasant communities, estimated participation in the hundreds of thousands nationwide.
In Bogotá, demonstrators blocked major arteries such as Avenida Caracas, Calle 26, and the NQS corridor from the early morning, leading to widespread traffic chaos and the temporary suspension of several TransMilenio bus rapid transit lines. By midday, the various columns of marchers had converged on Plaza de Bolívar, where union leaders, workers’ associations, and community representatives addressed the crowd from a stage facing the Capitolio Nacional.
President Petro joined the rally in the afternoon, delivering a defiant speech from the heart of the capital. He announced that his government would stand firm on the decreed minimum wage of two million Colombian pesos (approximately $544 at current exchange rates), insisting that “not a single digit” of the original increase had been altered.
“We are not backing down,” Petro declared to cheers from the crowd. “We have signed the decree and officially submitted it back to the Council of State for reconsideration. We have new, rigorous technical studies that fully justify this figure.”
The president accused the judicial suspension of being politically motivated and argued that the wage hike is essential to combat poverty, reduce inequality, and stimulate domestic demand. He framed the court’s intervention as an attack on the rights of workers and a defense of business interests over social justice.
The Council of State issued its precautionary suspension order on February 10, 2026, in response to multiple lawsuits filed by business associations, including the National Business Association of Colombia (ANDI) and several regional chambers of commerce. The court cited potential violations of Law 278 of 1996, which requires minimum wage adjustments to be based on a balanced consideration of inflation, national productivity, unemployment levels, and the potential impact on formal employment and the informal sector.
In its ruling, the Council of State argued that the December 2025 decree appeared to have disregarded or insufficiently weighed these mandatory technical criteria, creating a risk of legal uncertainty and economic distortion. The suspension is provisional and does not nullify the decree outright; it pauses enforcement pending a final ruling on the merits of the lawsuits.
Petro’s administration responded by commissioning fresh economic studies from the National Planning Department (DNP), the Labor Ministry, and independent academics, which the president claims now provide robust justification for the 23.7% rise—the largest percentage increase in decades.
The standoff has plunged Colombia into a period of high political and economic tension. Business groups warn that the hike—coming amid persistent inflation above target and sluggish growth—could accelerate informalization, reduce competitiveness, and lead to job losses in small and medium enterprises. Labor unions and social movements counter that the increase is long overdue to restore purchasing power eroded by years of high inflation and stagnant wages.
Thursday’s demonstrations passed largely without major violence, though isolated clashes occurred between protesters and riot police near the Plaza de Bolívar late in the afternoon. The National Police reported 14 arrests nationwide, mostly for minor public-order offenses.
The government has vowed to defend the decree in court and, if necessary, pursue legislative or constitutional avenues to secure the wage increase. President Petro has also called on Congress to debate broader labor reforms, including strengthening collective bargaining and reducing labor market duality.
As the Council of State prepares to rule on the substantive challenges, the confrontation between the executive and judiciary has become one of the defining political battles of Petro’s administration. The outcome will have far-reaching implications for labor policy, executive-judicial relations, and Colombia’s economic trajectory in 2026.
With the minimum wage currently frozen at the 2025 level pending judicial resolution, millions of low-income workers and their families face continued uncertainty over their purchasing power in the months ahead.
