On 18 March 2025, in Bucaramanga (Santander), students and labor unions marched through the city in support of the social reforms proposed by President Gustavo Petro (PH). The protests were called nationwide by the president after the announcement of the imminent defeat in Congress of the labor reform proposed by his government.

Summary

On March 18, 2025, peaceful protests occurred in Bucaramanga, Colombia, in support of President Gustavo Petro's social reforms. With the expected failure of the labor reform bill to pass through Congress, the President has called for nationwide demonstrations. Currently, these remain low-risk peaceful assemblies.

Supply-chain impact

• Bucaramanga is an industrial center in Santander department with concentrated oil refining and chemical industries, but the risk of immediate operational shutdowns due to peaceful protests is limited
• Direct impact on production and transportation of Colombia's major exports including crude oil, coal, and coffee remains minimal at the current stage
• If protests expand in scale, there is potential for indirect impact on Magdalena River waterway navigation and accessibility to Caribbean coastal ports (Cartagena, Barranquilla)

Watch points

• Need to track Congressional voting results on the labor reform bill and whether additional protest expansion follows
• Monitoring required for protest spillover to major oil and coal production regions (Cesar, La Guajira departments) and export terminal areas