Colombian President Gustavo Petro is facing fierce backlash after announcing plans to bypass the country’s Congress and push through a national referendum by presidential decree — a move opposition leaders and legal experts have condemned as a threat to the country’s constitutional order.
During a national television address on Tuesday night, Petro vowed to sign a decree authorizing a consulta popular, or popular consultation, to advance his stalled reform agenda. The announcement came despite the Senate’s formal rejection of the initiative on May 14 and has triggered a wave of alarm across Colombia’s political spectrum. The State Council, which is part of the judiciary, ratified the Senate’s decision.
By declaring that Congress had failed to respond and was guilty of procedural “tricks,” Petro insisted he had the right to act unilaterally. “The people must speak because they are the true owners of political power in Colombia — there is no other,” the president said, warning that he expected reprisals. “I know this will bring everything down on me and accelerate all the threats against me.”
Petro has specified that the content of the referendum is based on the 12-points of the original document persented to lawmakers back in May. he said he would sign the decree later this week in Cali or Medellín.
The president’s declaration is being interpreted as the most direct challenge yet to Colombia’s system of checks and balances. Opposition lawmakers, constitutional scholars, and civil society groups have denounced the move as an institutional rupture that undermines the separation of powers — a foundational principle of the country’s democratic framework.
“This is not just political posturing — it is a grave assault on the Republic,” stated Senator Miguel Uribe of the right-wing Centro Democrático party. “Petro has made it clear that if institutions do not serve his agenda, he will seek to destroy them.”
Bogotá Mayor Carlos Fernando Galán also issued a forceful response on his official ‘X’ account, warning that Petro’s actions posed a fundamental threat to the rule of law.
“For the President to override the authority of Congress, as he just announced on national television, is a serious development,” Galán said. “It constitutes an institutional breakdown and a real threat to the foundations of the rule of law and our democratic system.”
Galán called on all democratic actors — across political affiliations — to stand against what he described as an authoritarian maneuver. “We must defend the separation of powers, even if it means confronting the head of state,” he said.
The controversy comes at a time of deep political polarization in Colombia, where Petro has struggled to pass reforms related to healthcare, labor, and pensions. His proposals have faced resistance not only from conservative parties but also from centrist and liberal factions that supported him in the 2022 presidential election.
Petro’s latest move appears to escalate a months-long confrontation with the legislative branch. In recent public appearances, he has openly attacked lawmakers, referring to Congress as corrupt and dysfunctional. In one recent speech, he suggested that Congress should be “revoked” and called legislators “hp” — a widely understood expletive in Colombian Spanish.
In their joint communique released Wednesday, the eight major political parties — Cambio Radical, Centro Democrático, Partido Conservador, MIRA, Colombia Justa Libres, Partido Liberal, Partido de la U, and Partido ASI — described Petro’s actions as a “coup d’état” and warned of the consequences of disregarding constitutional order.
Titled “The Popular Consultation via Decree, Ignoring the Decision of the Senate, Is a Coup d’État”, the statement reads:
“The political parties: Cambio Radical, Centro Democrático, Partido Conservador, MIRA, Colombia Justa Libres, Partido Liberal, Partido de la U, and Partido ASI reject this unilateral and unconstitutional action by the Petro government. We call upon the competent institutions — the Constitutional Court, the Council of State, the Office of the Inspector General, and the Office of the Comptroller General — to take immediate action to defend Colombia’s institutional framework”.
“We ask the National Registrar to assess the legality and legitimacy of any decree-based popular consultation and ensure compliance with all constitutional and legal requirements.”
“Colombia is a democracy governed by laws and institutions. No one is above the Constitution.”
Constitutional experts have also sounded the alarm. While Petro has framed the referendum as a democratic tool, they argue that bypassing the legislature through executive decree undermines the very democracy he claims to defend. The Colombian Constitution requires that referendums — particularly those involving structural reforms — receive congressional approval and follow strict procedural guidelines.
Columnist Santiago Ángel, writing for El Colombiano, describes the current mood: “President Gustavo Petro has crossed the line that must never be crossed in a democracy. He is now openly ignoring Congress after weeks of suggesting it should be revoked. He declared that if institutions don’t do what the people want, then ‘institutions must go.’ This is the most dangerous threat of his three years in office.”
Business leaders have also voiced strong concern. Jaime Alberto Cabal, president of Colombia’s National Federation of Merchants (Fenalco), warned that Petro’s decision risked deepening political instability and undermining investor confidence. “This is an authoritarian drift that threatens legal certainty and democratic governance,” Cabal said in a statement. He urged the government to respect institutional channels and warned that bypassing Congress would send “a dangerous message” to domestic and international investors at a time when Colombia is already facing economic headwinds.
Petro’s standoff now places him not only at odds with the legislature, but also with Colombia’s judiciary, which has historically acted as a bulwark against presidential overreach, and the infiltration or financing of drug cartels in presidential elections.
The question now turns to whether Colombia legal and legislative branches of power can act to block the presidential decree and reaffirm the due process of politcal debate. Opposition parties have already announced plans to challenge the decree in the high courts.
Meanwhile, Petro shows no sign of retreat and frames his initiative as the will of “the people”. As the country’s first leftist leader continues to push the limits of his presidential mandate toward authoritarianism, the nation is teetering to brink of a constitutional showdown, and concerns are growing that as Petro enters his final year in office, he has no remorse to plunge the nation toward a deep political crisis – one with potentially lasting consequences for its democratic future.
