Bogota Mayor Gustavo Petro
Bogota Mayor Gustavo Petro (Photo: Vanguardia)
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Bogota Mayor calls for new public transport protest

by Daniel E Freeman

Speaking to demonstrators in the Colombian capital, Bogota Mayor Gustavo Petro called for new protests for next week, promising changes to the public transportation system, according to national media.

Petro attempted to assuage protestors who had shutdown much of the city’s public transport system, saying that he would meet with the bus companies that run Bogota’s primary public rail, the Transmilenio. “The demonstration cannot affect other [public transport] users any more. The proposal is to locate how we can target change in these contracts,” he told the crowd.

FACT SHEET: TransMilenio

The mayor went on to encourage his audience to meet again the Plaza Bolivar next Tuesday for another round of protests.

Even after tens of citizens were injured in clashes with anti-riot police and 8 more were arrested across the city of Bogota, Petro appeared at a bus station addressing protestors in public, attempting to calm them down. He engaged with a group of protestors in dialogue for nearly 5 hours.

MORE: Bogota public transport riots leave at least 30 injured and 8 in jail

The mayor, who is currently facing the real possibility of being thrown out of office due to a mishandling of his decision to publicize the garbage collection industry in Bogota, made comments that alluded to his beliefs on making more city services public. During his multi-hour talk back with the protestors, Petro implied that this is what happens when certain services are run by private enterprises, according to radio station Caracol.

In terms of actionable plans, the former guerrilla-turned mayor said that he will seek to renegotiate current contracts with the bus companies, try to get more seats on buses for passengers, and lower the price for commuters traveling between 4-6 AM to $.70.

Sources