Medellín, Colombia — Colombian President Gustavo Petro signed a new decree Thursday evening in Bogotá’s Plaza de Bolívar to increase the legal monthly minimum wage by 23.7%. This follows the suspension of the original wage hike by the Council of State last week.
Petro’s defiant announcement was met with applause in the Colombian capital from the assembled crowd as similar marches and protests were organized in major cities across the country, following the president’s call to action this Monday.
The new minimum legal monthly salary of COP$1,750,905 (USD$480) along with a transport allowance of COP$249,095 (USD$68) was originally announced on December 29.
However it was provisionally suspended by the Council of State, the highest administrative court, on February 12 who gave Petro’s administration eight days to come up with a new transitional decree or justify the existing one.
The judicial body said that the increase lacked a “verifiable legal and economic justification,” as it did not take inflation and productivity into account, as stipulated by a 1996 law. The suspension said that the measure represented a “misuse of power and violation of the principle of legality.”
The precautionary suspension of the salary increase, the first of its kind, followed lawsuits by business owners, citizens, and unions. The National Business Association of Colombia (ANDI) expressed their support for its suspension that in their words protected “the rule of law, the separation of powers, and the strength of Colombian democratic institutions.”
In his Thursday evening speech, Petro defended the wage hike by highlighting the results of a study by the International Labour Organization that recommended a minimum salary of COP$2,000,000 (USD$540), arguing that the new decree complied with the Council’s wishes.
The president said he didn’t want to “overdo it” and therefore decreed the same wage change as the original December increase.
He also attacked the “mega-rich” and “parasites” of Colombia who opposed his decision, claiming that they only saw opportunities for “business in every square centimetre” of the country.
Some conservatives have backed the minimum salary increase, such as independent presidential candidate Vicky Dávila who expressed her support for the climb, while criticizing Petro’s “politicized marches” in the run up to the election period.
Featured image: Petro in Plaza de Bolívar last Thursday.
Featured image credit: @petrogustavo via X.
