The mobilization, called 'March of the White Coats', expressed its rejection of health management, but also of the reform of the Constitution that the South American president wants to promote.

Thousands of Colombians took to the streets of Bogotá, Medellín, Cali, Barranquilla and other cities in the country this Sunday to express their opposition to the government of President Gustavo Petro, especially the management of the health sector and his intention to call a constituent assembly to reform the Constitution.

The mobilization, called 'March of the White Coats', was called by the Colombian Association of Surgery and then joined by the Colombian Association of Scientific Societies (ACSC), which represents 69 organizations of specialist doctors, as well as thousands of people from different sectors. . "I voted for change, for Petro, but we continue with the same thing. I march because I still think that Colombia has some hope and I love my country," Martha Estrada, a 64-year-old pensioner, tells AFP in Bogotá.

In the capital of Colombia, the beginning of the demonstration has been threatened by the rain that began to fall this morning in the National Park, where protesters gather to head towards the central Plaza de Bolívar. "No to the increase in fuel prices," say the banners of some transporters, who also demand more security from the Government on the roads where gangs of robbers proliferate.

One of the cities where the concentrations first began was Barranquilla, the main city in the Colombian Caribbean, where a crowd dressed in white or the yellow shirt of the soccer team gathered in front of the Joe Arroyo Transmetro station. In Medellín, Colombia's second city and where Petro faces the greatest opposition, the crowd, with Colombian flags and green and white flags from the department of Antioquia, began to gather at the intersection of Oriental and La Playa avenues.

Although the Colombian opposition has demonstrated before against the Petro Government, today's demonstration seems to be one of the largest because it is based on the rejection of the Government's intervention in the health system. Petro came to power in August 2022 as the first leftist to govern a country traditionally run by conservative elites. With 60% disapproval, according to the pollster Invamer, the president has been losing support from political forces in Congress and also in the public square where he is usually very active.