The recent demonstrations supporting social reforms proposed by President Gustavo Petro's government have led to a clash between Bogotá's Mayor Carlos Fernando Galán and Fabio Arias, leader of Colombia's main labor union, the Central Unitaria de Trabajadores (CUT). On Thursday night, Galán announced his intention to legally pursue Arias for admitting that blocking roads and transit stations was a tactic used during the protests. He argued on Friday that such actions were not justified and were not protected under the right to protest.

The protests, organized by labor unions as part of a national strike, included plans to block key entry points to the city and disrupt the Transmilenio mass transit system as a method of supporting the national government. The central march in Bogotá saw low participation, allegedly due to efforts to prevent people from reaching their workplaces throughout the city. The Mayor, having defeated both a government-backed and an opposition candidate in the 2023 elections, expressed his disapproval from the outset, noting that while a peaceful march in the city's center did occur, there were groups who focused on disrupting citizens' rights.

The tipping point for the Mayor's legal complaint was Arias's admission on Thursday afternoon, during a closing speech at Plaza de Bolívar, that the roadblocks were a significant component of the protests. Arias lauded the disruptions as a success, pointing out that various groups managed to halt Transmilenio's operations, a statement that sparked outrage on social media. By evening, the Mayor had declared that this admission was evidence of Arias's potential legal liability, as he confessed that the blockades were not isolated incidents but rather a deliberate strategy.

Mayor Galán based his legal argument on Colombian penal code article 353, which penalizes the use of illicit means to obstruct people's movement with imprisonment from four to eight years. He distinguished between the legitimate central march of approximately 4,000 participants and the roadblocks executed by smaller groups at city entrances, which he viewed as disproportionately infringing on non-participating citizens' rights. He justified his stance by saying that while it is normal for protests to block areas like Plaza de Bolívar, premeditated disruptions of the transport system at odd hours cross a line.

Arias countered by stating that roadblocks are a recognized form of social protest, supported by International Labor Organization (ILO) protocols and a 2021 report by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR). He argued that the events on Wednesday and Thursday never endangered others' lives, which he sees as the threshold for protest rights. He emphasized that emergency vehicles were allowed to pass and that blockades were temporary.

In 2021, the IACHR had visited Colombia amidst significant social unrest and concluded that society must endure a certain level of disturbance from protests, which varies with context: "The IACHR emphasizes that it is necessary to tolerate some disruptions to daily life, such as traffic and commerce, to preserve the essence of peaceful assembly rights. The 'degree of tolerance' required cannot be defined in abstract terms and must be assessed by the state on a case-by-case basis."

Supporters of President Petro, who has a strained relationship with Galán, stood by the union leader. Labor Minister Antonio Sanguino accused the Mayor of targeting the union movement, while Petro-aligned Congressman Alirio Uribe labeled him "authoritarian." Even critics of the government, like academic Sandra Borda, a former associate of Galán, urged caution against criminalizing protests, stating that while vandalism is a crime, it was not the intent of these demonstrations. Conversely, the capital's right-wing factions praised the Mayor. Councilor Daniel Briceño, from the right-wing Democratic Center, expressed his support for the Mayor, insisting that the illegal Transmilenio blockades must face serious legal repercussions.